Tres Marias
by Batugan
Summary: Complete! NejiTen and NaruHina. It was a grave error of unfathomable proportions when Hokage-sama sent her into this accident mission without him. And morality be damned but, he would kill for her. Anyone who tried harming a single hair on her head. R&R!
1. Threat

I edited everything from here as I added this kind of a prologue chapter

(I edited everything from here as I added this kind of a prologue chapter. I do hope you guys wouldn't get somehow confused. XD)

This is dedicated to my three favorite female characters in Naruto—Tenten, Ino and Hinata-chan. XD And to my friend Sho-chan as well who thought of the idea out of the blue. I hope you all liked this one. :P

I don't own Naruto. It belongs to the great Masashi Kishimoto.

xXx

**Chapter One:** Threat

Blood. She never knew she could shed so much. She never realized that her blood could be so… red. So vivid. It was as if a bucket of red paint was dripping from her very stomach. But, of course, she knew that wasn't possible. This was her blood, she knew that much. Nothing else but, her crimson red blood.

The sword seemed so sharp and so cold. She could feel herself shivering as it plunged deeper into her body. Every centimeter it pushed through, she winced. She grunted. She cried. No tears needed. No sound required. The immense pain drowned every one of them. She never discerned she could feel so much. Whatever happened to the fearless training she had all these years of being a kunoichi?

He got a bootless cry of hurt and anguish when he pushed the weapon deeper into her, a sadistic smile playing on his lips. More blood flowed out of her open injury. This time, even her mouth was dripping blood. Her lips tugged up into a faint smile. This wasn't over yet even if her chakra was on a dangerously low level. She would never give up. Her fatigued body might've had but, her spirit refused to do so. She was a Konoha ninja, after all, and a Konoha ninja refutes giving up.

Her tired and sore legs gave way and she slumped down before him. The sword was still inside her as she didn't even bother pulling it out. Who cared, anyway? She would rather die with it still piercing her. That way, people would know that she didn't surrender until her very last breath. That Konoha's Weapons Mistress fought until the very end.

She could feel her tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. But, she repudiated ever crying especially in front of her opponent. She cursed herself mentally, though, when a single crystalline tear made its way down her soft, wounded cheek. It made its way down, down, down. Down on the dirt-laden ground she was now partially sitting on.

There was a part of her that wanted everything to end already. Yet there was this persistent voice deep inside her screaming, yelling, pleading for her to get up. To punch this bastard square on the face. To kill him mercilessly for doing this to her. She wanted to battle still. To prove that female ninjas like her doesn't deserve to lose, to be wounded, to get killed. To prove to all shinobi countries that Konoha female ninjas were fierce and potent. To prove to him that she would go home all in one piece and say sorry for turning a frigid shoulder on him.

If only he could hear her now.

She grinned upon remembering that silly old story she once heard from her mother. That your knight in shining armor would rescue you when you needed him the most. That he would be invincible and he would shine like the stars. She once believed it. She once had faith on that ridiculous tale. But on the night her parents got killed, the story died along with them. There was a part of her that died alongside their demise as well and up until now, she was still searching which part that was.

But, when he came into her life, the story took shape again. It gradually pieced itself together and bit by bit, little by little, it entered her heart once more. She clung onto it another time like a little child clinging on the hem of her mother's shirt. She helped it reborn itself and when she finally admitted to herself that she loved him, it was breathing a life of its own. She was happy that her fairy tale was forming yet again. If only her parents were here to see her live it.

Then again, with what was currently occurring to her, the story seemed to be losing its glimmer once again. She now doubted if it would ever come true. Her grin widened slightly upon remembering how juvenile she was for still believing on that preposterous tale. It would never become a reality. It would stay as a fiction forever—eternally hidden inside her weeping heart.

If only time would permit her to say sorry to him. If only fate would allow her to hug him, kiss him, tell him how much he meant to her. If only Kami-sama would let her see him again. His face that she memorized every detail, every feature, every expression that passed. Was she asking too much? Was she being selfish?

Was she begging for the impossible?

She coughed out more blood, finding everything so amusing. Here she was struggling for her life, for every breath that was slowly leaving her system and yet the only face plastered inside her mind was his. His alone and no one else's. It would've been more pleasing if she died in his arms, those mighty arms that would catch her no matter what. She didn't care whatever means she would die from, as long as he was there, she was fine with it.

Another tear managed to escape from her pools. It was a shame she didn't even had a chance to say goodbye before she left for this darn mission. Or even talk to him casually like they used to do. It wouldn't have hurt this much if she even had a glimpse of his face before she die.

And now, the mission, the story, his face were leisurely sinking into the oblivion she never knew subsisted inside her, mixing with the agony she was now suffering from. She smiled wistfully, beginning to feel the sudden peace looming within her. She gathered all her strength and looked at her teammates.

Meters away from where she was, Hinata was crawling on the ground towards her, tears freefalling from her white eyes. "T-Tenten-san… F-Fight! D-Don't give up…" She said, crying and trying her very best to get up from her beaten up state.

Tied high up in a tree was Ino who was incessantly screaming at her. "TENTEN! GET UP NOW! DON'T…" She choked back tears that were pouring down her beautiful blue eyes. "…d-die on us, p-please…" She was sobbing as she wriggled for the millionth time against her tight bonds. Her lips were quivering as she shouted the same thing over and over again.

She soon comprehended that what people were saying was true—that the first one from your senses that would retire was your hearing as their voices didn't appear to reach her ears. She smiled one last time at them and looked at her foe who was smirking evilly. He raised his right arm high and a sharp sword made of wood materialized in his hand.

He said something that she couldn't hear anymore and she knew this was it. She would die. She would leave her teammates. She would leave everyone in Konoha. She would leave him.

Solemnly, she closed her tear-stricken eyes and smiled.

_Goodbye, Neji…_

And as she whispered those two words in her mind, a series of events came flashing in her head—bringing her to where everything started from.

xXx

Hope you liked it. Thanks for reading and please tell me what you all think! :D


	2. Risk

This is dedicated to my three favorite female characters in Naruto—Tenten, Ino and Hinata-chan

Chapter Two here. xD

I don't own Naruto. Because if I did, NaruHina would most definitely be canon.

xXx

**Chapter Two: **Risk

She would love to believe that this was a simple mission. It seemed like it anyway since there were no other ninjas in town except the three of them. Minus to that would be Sakura who was still continuing her medical training with Godaime-sama and Neji who, being promoted as a jounin, wasn't set out to missions except if they were real important like those S-rank missions they were so frightened about back when they were still genins.

She heard that Naruto was having missions here and there. Figures since he needed them due to his low rank. And maybe that was why she'd been seeing less and less of him around Konoha. The last time he had a mission was with Shino. She didn't know how those two got along, though. They were just deployed yesterday and wouldn't be back for the next few days, or so she heard from Neji who came training with her that morning. It appeared like he and Tenten, his constant sparring partner, weren't in speaking terms.

She glanced at Tenten who was just beside her. Godaime-sama's office had that peculiar aura to it. The air here seemed to be more arid and the ambiance was as heavy as Godaime-sama's intent stares on them. Somehow, she could feel herself perspiring.

"Yamanaka Ino, Hyuuga Hinata and Tenten, you three are assigned to escort a rich woman named Ayumi from Amegakure to Kumogakure," She handed a file to Ino and with it were data attachments concerning the woman. "From the information gathered, it looks like powerful shinobi bandits are after her. You three need to protect her because she's the sole heir to a mighty clan at the Rain Village."

Ino brought her hands to her hips. "But, Tsunade-sama, why the three of us? Given that all of the boys are assigned in different missions and are not here, why not deploy other teams with males in them? Isn't somehow—"

"Weird that you're all girls?" Tsunade continued, raising a brow. "There's a reason why I chose you girls aside from the fact that you three are the only available chuunins who can take this mission,"

"And what would that be, Godaime-sama?" Tenten asked abruptly.

"It's because the person who you're gonna attend to refused on having boys as bodyguards. It seemed like, from all of the data collected, male bodyguards from different shinobi countries already escorted her before and, well, their perversion acted up." Tsunade sighed. "That's why I chose you three to accompany her instead,"

Ino shook her head. "Really, boys could be such morons."

"I agree to that," Tenten crossed her arms as she rolled her eyes. Hinata couldn't help but stifle a giggle. Her Neji-niisan could attest to that.

She couldn't help but be curious about one thing, though. "A-ano… is this an S-rank mission, G-Godaime-sama?"

Tsunade chuckled lightly. "No, of course not. This is only a simple escort mission. The only difference is that you're all females. I don't want my top three kunoichi to die yet,"

Her statement sent a wave of relief for Hinata and possibly for her two other teammates as well. So, this was a simple mission after all that only required female ninjas. And here she thought that the oddity of their formation as a three-man—oh, wait, scratch that—a three-woman cell would hint a special mission. She took a glimpse at her two other teammates. Ino had this determined look and so did Tenten. Hinata smiled and took on a pertinacious stare too. She wouldn't let her two teammates down. These two were the top female ninjas in their last chuunin exams and she didn't want to play as a damsel in distress yet again.

Hyuuga Hinata would stand up no matter what—she would make sure of it. No more rescuing needed.

"Yamanaka Ino?"

"Hai!"

"Tenten?"

"Hai!"

"Hyuuga Hinata?"

"H-Hai,"

"You three meet up at Konoha's gate after an hour and all of you would set out to Amegakure after that. I assign Tenten to be the mission leader, is that clear?"

"Hai, Godaime-sama!" All three girls assured in unison before they left the office in silence. Shizune entered the room right after the three girls exited and she had this unexplainable amusement sweeping across her features while watching the three girls' retreating forms.

"It's been a long time since you deployed a three-woman cell for a mission. Brings back a tinge of nostalgia, eh?" She said, smiling at the headstrong female Hokage.

"This is different from the last time, though. It's only an escort mission this time. Wouldn't even bring a sweat on those girl's foreheads," Tsunade retorted, watching her apprentice in her peripheral vision come by her side.

"And you suppose the last time was hard?"

"It was an S-rank mission, Shizune. And I regret ever sending them there," Tsunade's features turned dismal and Shizune couldn't help but look at her worryingly. The memory of that mission never failed to make their Hokage somehow melancholy. She mentally cursed herself for still bringing the topic up.

"But, these girls are different. They have grown already. Ino's really getting all the medical jutsus well and Tenten's even dubbed as Konoha's Weapon Mistress by her age group. Even Hinata's personality has strengthened. Thing is, they're not little girls anymore. They can handle—"

"And so were they back then. I don't want that to happen again, not to my fellow female ninjas," Her voice stressed the finality of their discussion, Shizune realized as she kept quiet after. She didn't want to press the matter further and the tranquility of the room testified to that. She looked out of the window of the Hokage's office and saw those three same girls they were talking about walking down the streets of Konoha. Ino was evidently chatting with them animatedly while the two couldn't stifle their laughter.

Shizune smiled wistfully. She sure hoped that their giggles would waft through the air and reach her ears.

xXx

The searing heat of the noontime sun was making Tenten a bit annoyed. It didn't help either that Godaime-sama assigned her as a team leader—the very first time ever since she became a kunoichi. But, she had to admit to herself that those two weren't really the ones ticking her off. Maybe they were but, only twenty percent of her anger. Eighty percent were mainly coming from that Hyuuga genius she was now loathing. How could he be so insensitive? He forgot? He forgot their very first date? HE FORGOT?

She didn't believe all the I'm-busy-because-I'm-already-a-jounin crap he'd been insinuating. He was the one who agreed to the date and made her all excited about this. Okay, probably he was being sarcastic when he said yes but, she asked him again and again if he was real sure. And he still said yes, for heaven's sake. What was that all about? He was trying to be hilarious?

She fixed her scroll on her back and tightened the cloth rope that tied it to place. She still couldn't believe him and from that day on, they weren't in speaking terms or even in sparring partner terms at that. It had been three days already since and she would prolong that if needed be. If there's one thing that she hated, it was being ditched by a guy—especially for a feminist like her.

"D-Daijobou ka, Tenten-san?" Hinata asked, snapping Tenten out of her reverie.

"Oh, I'm fine… of course! Why shouldn't I?" She smiled and somehow, it felt like a chore.

"Yokatta! I hope it's not because of Neji-niisan," Hinata applied much care into saying his name.

Tenten almost flinched upon hearing it. "Why should I be troubled because of that arrogant bastard? I'm okay, really. Real fine and not bothered by your cousin, Hinata. I'm real fine! Really really fine! Real real—"

"Tee-hee, I understand." Hinata cut her off while giggling. Tenten couldn't help but blush faintly. All this talk about Neji was driving her insane.

"Where is Ino? I just told her to get some medicines from the hospital. What's taking her so long?" Tenten inquired, feeling a bit impatient. After almost a few minutes, the two girls saw the blonde kunoichi running at their direction with a white belt bag hanging around her slim waist.

"I'm sorry for taking a long while! I picked the most suitable medicines for our mission, you see. We don't want any of us getting injured now, would we?" Ino said smiling, fixing the white bag around her waist. "What I don't understand is that why ask me to gather the perfect medicines, Tenten? It's not like we're going in an S-rank mission or something,"

"It wouldn't hurt to be prepared,"

Ino sighed. "You sound exactly like Shikamaru,"

Tenten smiled crookedly. "I guess you'll say the same thing when you become a team leader,"

"Aha! I wouldn't act like that lazy doof, you know. Even if I become a team leader," Ino crossed her arms, turning her head to the side.

"A-ano… Shall we set out now?" Hinata inquired and the two nodded.

"Yes, we should. It's a total of three days until we reach Amegakure. It's a long journey with various obstacles. Better be prepared," Tenten announced, glancing at her two other teammates.

"Hinata, activate your Byakugan when you feel or hear something suspicious. We'll count you for surveillance," She told the Hyuuga heiress upon meeting her gaze.

"H-Hai!"

"Ino, prepare your medical jutsus when one of us gets injured. We'll count you for medical support since you're the only medic nin here," Tenten instructed the blonde Yamanaka when she met her determined look.

"Hai!"

"Okay, team! Let's move out!" Tenten declared and when they were about to leave Konoha's gates and jump onto the nearest tree branch, Ino called out.

"Wait, we need a team name!"

"Eh? We don't have time for that!" Tenten complained, looking at Ino in disbelief.

"Oh please! You sound like your boyfriend Neji!"

Hinata giggled.

"I do not!" Tenten protested. "Fine… Let's hear your ideas, Ino. Somehow, a team name for the first ever three-woman cell of Konoha doesn't sound so bad."

"Hmmm… How about Girl Power?" Ino queried, scratching her chin.

"We sound like superheroes," Tenten objected.

"Escort girls?"

"Nope, sounds disturbing."

"The Three Beautiful Kunoichi of Konoha?"

"Too long,"

Ino racked her mind for more ideas while Tenten looked at her hilariously.

"H-How about T-Tres Marias?" Hinata suggested after much silence. Ino looked at her suddenly, her face lighting up.

"Ooohh, sounds nice! Where did you get that?"

Hinata smiled. "I read about it in a book,"

"What does it mean?"

"I-I think it means Three Maidens,"

"Not bad, too. Better than Ino's ideas, at least." Tenten smirked, taking a quick look at the mind-controller.

Ino pouted. "Hey!"

"Now that we have a team name, let's set out!" Tenten directed and the three jumped onto the nearest tree branches, starting yet another three-woman cell mission—all of them wishing its success.

xXx

Daijobou ka – Are you alright?

Yokatta – I'm glad

And Tenten became the mission leader because she's the oldest.

Thanks for reading and please review, nyah. X3 Chapter Three would be coming out soon, heh.


	3. Eclipse

Thanks to those who reviewed and those who read but, didn't review, haha

(I edited the whole story so, if you're wondering what happened, go to the first chapter, plskthnx.)

Thanks to those who reviewed and those who read but, didn't review, haha. Know what, it wouldn't hurt to review, though. I don't bite. Well, not most of the time, at least. XD

I told you Chapter Three will come out soon, ne?

I don't own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

xXx

**Chapter Three:** Eclipse

Tired and in need of rest, the three-woman cell of Konoha began camping out, not even halfway through their journey to Amegakure. The sun was slowly bidding farewell, casting playful shadows and various orange hues on the ground. It was a breezy afternoon and the incessant gusts of wind were making it difficult for Tenten to set up her makeshift tent. Ino grabbed her purple sleeping bag from her backpack and started splaying it out on the grassy ground. Hinata, though, was sitting comfortably under a huge tree with her back calmly resting against its trunk.

"You're not gonna prepare your sleeping bag, Hinata?" Asked Ino upon sitting comfortably on her soft sleeping bag.

"Yeah. Not even a tent or something?" It was now Tenten's turn to inquire when she triumphantly set her tent sturdy on the ground.

Hinata smiled. "I-It's okay. I can rest like this. I-I can take the first turn on surveillance,"

"You sure?" Ino asked yet again. "It's bad for our complexion if we don't get our required beauty sleep, you know."

The Hyuuga heiress giggled. "I-It's okay. I think I already got enough b-beauty sleep last night,"

"Your call," Ino replied, lying down on her belly with her hands resting under her chin. "Since we're still all wide awake, how about we get to know each other more,"

Tenten grinned, sitting just outside her improvised tent. "Not a bad idea! Since we're all girls here, we can openly talk about almost anything,"

The long-haired blonde laughed. "Yes, that's what I was thinking too!" Her smile turned into a devilish smirk. "Starting with our lovelife,"

"Okay, it's getting dark! We should all get some sleep," Tenten announced, standing up and was beginning to enter her tent.

"Wah! You're no fun, Tenten! Come on, what happened to you and Neji?" Ino whined while Hinata giggled. Tenten could avoid the subject anytime she liked but, not this time. It was now the moment of truth.

"I-It'll only be between us three, anyway." Hinata gave her an assuring smile, making the Weapons Mistress slump down in front of her tent in defeat.

"Are you really certain?" Tenten queried anxiously at the Byakugan user and when her gaze landed on the smirking Yamanaka, her features grew dim. "Forget it. Konoha's gossip queen is listening,"

Ino raised her right hand with a sincere look gracing her face. "Promise I won't tell. Even if Chouji tortures me by making me eat a truckload of yakiniku. And that's saying something since I dislike yakiniku and it'll make me fat,"

"Okay, okay. I'll spill the beans," Tenten sighed. She never thought the day would come when she would talk about her lovelife openly. Especially to her boyfriend's cousin and to Konoha's infamous gossip queen.

She could feel herself perspiring as she stared at her teammates' intent looks on her. Kami-sama, she thought, save me from this confession. Oh please, save me! And just when she was about to open her mouth and find her voice, something rustled in the nearby tree.

They all immediately stood up. "What was that?" Ino asked, getting a kunai gradually from her pockets. Tenten was slowly picking her scroll up from beside her tent and carefully untying the rope keeping it in place. So maybe, Kami-sama misinterpreted her plea for help.

"I'll check. Byakugan!" Hinata activated her bloodline and looked around.

Tenten unhurriedly neared herself to the Byakugan user. "What do you see?" She whispered.

"N-Nothing. From the long range my Byakugan reaches, I could see no one near us. M-Maybe it's a false alarm," Hinata whispered back, just loud enough for them to hear.

"Probably it's the wind?" Ino suspected, her kunai still ready to be thrown. "It's a windy day, after all."

If it's the wind, why did the rustling only happen in one tree? Tenten thought suspiciously. But then, Hinata's Byakugan would've seen whoever it was who was following them. The weapons kunoichi dismissed the thought but, still kept her stance.

"Probably. But, let's not keep our guard down. We don't want to get ambushed or anything," Tenten stated, putting her tied scroll on the ground where she got it. "Hinata, activate your Byakugan from time to time to check on our surroundings."

The Hyuuga deactivated her Byakugan. "H-Hai!"

Ino kept her kunai then sighed. "It's a good thing it's just the wind. Or else my beauty sleep would've been ruined!"

Tenten shook her head. Now she knew why Shikamaru was always troubled. Ino was a living witness to that.

xXx

Only two more days until their chosen destination. The three female ninjas were eagerly jumping from one tree branch to the other. It was still early morning when they set out again. Hinata, from the night of the false ambush, activated her Byakugan every now and then. Ino was unbelievably quiet too, perhaps making herself alert from surprise enemies as well. Their formation was a product of Tenten's leadership skills she never knew existed in her.

Hinata was ahead with her Byakugan activated with Ino just behind her. Lagging behind them was Tenten who purposely chose to stay behind. If someone was indeed following them, she could easily target that person with one of her shurikens or kunais. Hinata was leading to warn them of impending danger. She couldn't possibly be the one lagging behind because of their Byakugan's blind spot—something she learned from Neji. If something bad happened, Kami-sama forbid, Ino could easily rush to her aid.

Of course, Ino couldn't be the one lagging behind as well. If something bad occurred, they wouldn't want their medic nin to be the first one down. So, she deliberately chose to be the one behind. She could easily fire her weapons in long range and in different directions too—signaling their tracker that these girls weren't a force to be reckoned with.

Tenten smirked. This formation was fool proof.

"Oi Tenten! You haven't told us what happened to you and Neji yet," Ino unexpectedly asked out of the blue.

Tenten almost tripped on one of the branches. "This isn't the right time for that, Ino, you know that."

"Yeah, I know. But, you left Hinata and I hanging that night!" Ino complained, glancing back at their mission leader.

Tenten shook her head in downfall. "Inooo…"

"What? You're the one who's not being open here!" Ino riposted, jumping on another branch.

The brown-haired lass sighed. "Fine. If this mission is going to be a successful one, I'll tell you everything you want to know,"

"Nyah, no fair!"

"Think of it this way, at least this is only an easy mission and we'll finish it in no time. You'll make me talk, piece of cake." She didn't exactly want Ino to juice out her lovelife from her but, in order for this mission to turn out victorious; she'll need all the help she could get. After all, this was her debut as a mission leader—she didn't want to fail big time.

"I suppose." Ino muttered. Her stare then landed on the Hyuuga princess in front of her. "How about you, Hinata? Any luck with Naruto?"

Hinata's face grew bright red. "Err… N-no,"

"When are you gonna tell him, then? You have this crush for him for ages!"

"I-I don't k-know…"

Ino heaved out a sigh. "You know what, what we girls need is a little courage to do what we need to do. Here we are, about to do a mission that we don't know if it's gonna be our last, and yet we're not afraid. But, when it comes to these simple things like admitting our feelings, we're scared shitless."

"This is different, Ino. What we're doing here is a part of our job as Konoha ninjas. Of course, we're trained to be fearless when tackling missions," Tenten chimed in, letting her opinion be heard.

"It just makes me wonder, that's all. How we're not afraid to risk our very lives and yet we're scared when it comes to love issues. It just sounds so ironic, don't you think?" The blonde medic nin replied.

"True… It does sound really ironic," Tenten couldn't help but smile at Ino's whisk of wittiness. She indeed had a point as she remembered how she was truly scared when Neji first found out her feelings for him. And yet, going to missions, acquiring injuries and almost getting killed, didn't bother her at the very least.

Perhaps that was what you normally feel from being a kunoichi.

xXx

Ino was diligently rolling her sleeping bag close when the sun rose into the wide blue yonder. Its sunlight warily peeked through the branches of the nearby trees, casting individual beams of light down the soft ground. Tenten, too, was fixing her spontaneous tent when the sunrise leisurely took place. Hinata snapped open her somewhat slumber dazed eyes upon hearing the rustle and bustle the two other girls were making.

"It's good that you're the team leader, Tenten. If it was Shikamaru, he would've made me hurry in fixing everything after sleeping." Ino said all of a sudden. "And I hate it when he rushes me with these things! My things go all scattered. I lose many belongings that way,"

"Maybe he just wanted to speed up the mission. You know him—the less troublesome, the better!" Tenten pointed out, finishing with her tent. "By the way, what's with him? I haven't seen him around Konoha lately,"

Ino shrugged. "Tsunade-sama's frequently sending him to Sunagakure for some errands," She finally completed fixing her sleeping bag as she did some jutsu and made it go poof.

"And he's not complaining? That's not like Shikamaru,"

Hinata stood up and rubbed off all the leaves and dirt that settled on her lap over the night with much heed. Tenten took this as a signal to set out again. She nodded at her teammates and they jumped on the nearest tree branches yet again—picking on their journey where they left off. Only one more day and they would finally be in front of Amegakure's gates.

"I know, right? I think he's dating Temari of the Sand," Ino assumed, jumping on another tree branch. They were once again in the formation Tenten devised.

"Really? How did you know?"

Ino smirked. "I have my sources,"

Tenten just laughed. "Haha, I bet Chouji told you that."

"True. He'd been suspecting it since the day he escorted her around Konoha. Of course, they're initial reply would be a solid no but, you know my senses. They can sniff a love affair a mile away," The notorious Konoha's gossip queen declared proudly. "That and I know when Shikamaru's in love. He goes from a lazy ass to a hard worker,"

"Hard worker?"

"Yeah, even if he tells me that falling in love is troublesome, I think deep inside he's just in denial. In denial that a genius like him can fall in love too, haha." Ino couldn't help but chuckle at her own findings. "Know what, he'd been purchasing at our flower shop real often,"

Tenten hopped onto another tree branch. "I thought you don't have time to work there anymore?"

"Yeah but, I always ask my cousin who's part timing there if a guy wearing a green jacket and sporting a ponytail buys flowers. And she always tells me he does," She replied matter-of-factly.

"How did you know it's him? There could be some other guys bearing the same style,"

Ino chuckled. "Oh please! That annoying face and hairstyle are unique. No one in Konoha would even dare copy that style. Shikamaru sticks out like a sore thumb, you know."

"Do you think Temari of the Sand would actually return his feelings? I've battled with her back then and she's tough," Tenten asked. She could still remember their very first chuunin exams. Who wouldn't forget that wind-user who just blew all of her beloved weapons away?

"Our Shikamaru isn't really the weak type either. And they have this saving each other's butts issue going on. I heard them when we went out for that Return the Favor mission," Ino stated knowingly.

Oh, that mission I wasn't in but everyone got to go, Tenten thought grudgingly. She gritted her teeth in light frustration and when she glanced ahead, Hinata unpredictably halted on a nearby tree branch.

"What's going on, Hinata?" Ino asked upon arriving by her side.

Tenten inquired the same thing when she stopped by Ino's side. Hinata's face grazed a pertinacious look. "There are people here. They've been watching us ever since we entered these rainforests,"

This is bad, Tenten thought.

"We know you're here! Come out now!" Ino called out sternly, getting her kunai from her pocket. Tenten was beginning to loosen the cloth rope tying her scroll behind her.

"If I were you guys, I'll do what she says or else!" Tenten got her scroll and rapidly opened it before her. Different weapons such as kunais, shurikens, explosive balls and scythes came shooting out of it in all directions. Some hit the nearby trees and exploded, while others pierced holes on the ground and on various tree branches. Ino and Hinata watched the Weapons Mistress do what she does best with much pride, never ceasing to let their guard down as well.

The smoke created by the hundreds of explosive tags cleared out and even before it did, Hinata was already checking their surroundings. "Any signs of them?" Ino whispered to the Hyuuga princess, turning her head from side to side to check on her environment.

"No, I can't see them anymore." Hinata answered, still gazing around.

Tenten closed her scroll hastily. "Maybe I got them all,"

"Guess again, little girls!" A voice announced from behind and when Tenten turned around hurriedly, she was too late.

"Ino, watch out!" Tenten warned the Yamanaka but, the man was too fast for her.

Everything happened so swiftly as she went tumbling down the ground in a flurry of moments.

xXx

Ino got up, blood dripping down her mouth. She wiped it with the back of her hand and smirked. Tenten took her standpoint as Hinata did too. Why didn't Hinata saw that coming? Oh yeah, Tenten thought, the Byakugan's blind spot was from behind. Testifying to that would be Neji's scars when he went to that Sasuke Retrieval Mission.

"Not a bad kick. But, I'd say I had worst ones before," Ino snapped nonchalantly. She looked up to where the man stood. He had short spiky black hair and scars scraped his cheeks. It was evident he's a certified shinobi. Proof to that would be his kick a while ago.

The man glanced at Hinata then to Tenten and to the blonde ninja he chose to kick. His smirk was defiant and proud. "Little girls from Konoha came to play, eh?"

"Yeah, a game I don't think you're ready to play, though." Ino replied, the same rebellious smirk tugging on her lips. Tenten had to hand it to Ino. She had never acted as a damsel in distress.

Tenten glared at him. "What do you want?"

"To play with you girls, of course. Such beautiful faces you have. Strong skills, too. Am I right, my Weapons Mistress?" He bowed down mockingly at the brown-haired kunoichi as she stared at him in disgust. When he stood straight up again, his smirk seemed to be unwavering. "I saw what you can do a while ago, my dear. Such might for a little bunny girl,"

Bunny girl?! Tenten thought in fury, this guy's going down! And from her inert determination, she would make sure of it. She held her closed scroll tightly and her hands began fumbling with the string that tied it shut.

Ino saw this and figured Tenten had a plan cooking. "If she's the mighty one? Why kick me? Because I'm pretty?"

"No, because you're the medic nin. We need you down first," He announced casually. Ino gritted her teeth. So, he knew all along that she was the medic nin? He had a lot of experience with ninjas then to presume something like that.

"Sorry to disappoint you but, I don't get knocked out that easily." She retorted, clenching her fists.

Tenten was still gradually untying her scroll. "Three against one? I think this would be an easy game, don't you think, Hinata?"

The Hyuuga was inevitably focused. "There are still more of them,"

"Ah, the Byakugan. Surely you can see my fellow ninjas even though they used a jutsu to make themselves invisible," He explained and after completing his sentence, ten other men emerged from everywhere. This greatly increased the alarm and vigilance to the Konoha three-woman cell.

Tenten just smirked. "Take five of those freaks, Hinata. I can take on the other five. I think you want to kick this man's butt, Ino?"

Ino was stretching her fingers. "My pleasure. I'll show you that you picked the wrong girl to kick,"

The weapons kunoichi successfully untied her scroll by now. "Shall we begin? Let the games start, then!" Tenten opened her scroll and spread it out in front of her. Once again, it was her beloved weapons' time to take flight.

xXx

The plot thickens on the next chapter. Everything is not what it seems, nyah. xD

Thanks for reading and please review!


	4. Slip Up

Here comes the fourth chapter, heh

Here comes the fourth chapter, heh. XD Enjoy!

Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.

xXx

**Chapter Four:** Slip-Up

He was searching for her persistently around Konoha's grounds. So, basically, he was at fault when she ensued the cold war between the two of them. Truthfully, he really forgot. As a jounin, there were so many responsibilities that Godaime-sama was placing on his shoulders. He forgot, plain and simple. He forgot about their very first date and he was humble enough to admit that. Humble enough for a Hyuuga prodigy. If only, she'll understand that.

And so, that was why he was looking for her. To tell her that he forgot. That he was human too. That he'll never forgive himself if their relationship would end just like that in words familiar to him. He wouldn't normally humble himself down to anybody but, Tenten's not just anybody. She was special. She was unique. She was his. And, after three whole days of pondering on what had taken place, he would make sure that she would stay that way.

It was kind of ironic though that he couldn't find her especially with those eyes of his. Byakugan—known for tracking anything with chakra in it for miles away. And yet he couldn't even find the one person he was seeking for. He cursed himself under his breath. What's the use of these eyes when it couldn't even find her?

Hyuuga Tenten, doko ni?

He trudged down Konoha's streets with much regard, his bloodline activated. And when an ANBU came popping out in front of him, his sudden appearance made him pose his fighting stance. "What do you want?" He asked firmly.

"Hyuuga Neji, Godaime-sama wants to see you in her office immediately. It's urgent," The ANBU stated imperturbably. He vanished as quickly as he emerged before him and the Hyuuga genius deactivated his Byakugan instantly. He was perplexed all of a sudden. What could Godaime-sama want with him?

And a realization swiftly rushed inside his head like a sudden flash of adrenaline. Maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with the very person he was looking for. Godaime-sama probably wanted him and Tenten to go on a mission together. The last time he was with her in a mission was about Sunagakure's Kazekage being kidnapped. And that was a very long time, in his book at least.

A very long time indeed.

xXx

She made a very fatal mistake. An extremely grave error. What had she done? How could she send them to their ultimate doom? An S-rank mission, how could she have overlooked? So, that was why an escort plea from Amegakure seemed really fishy. From what she knew, Amegakure was now ruled by an Akatsuki and people there were on tight guard. She even wondered how the letter asking for escorts came to Konoha.

And that was why the face of the woman appeared to be awfully familiar to her. She had seen that face before if she wasn't mistaken.

x x x

"You called me to your office, Godaime-sama?" An ANBU inquired upon materializing in front of her desk.

She was troubled as evident on her seemingly young face. "Yes. What did you found out from what I asked of you?"

He handed her a file with pictures and gathered data relevant to what she was requesting for. "From all of the information I have collected, seems like the Akatsuki is now targeting the Hachibi as well."

She seized the file and browsed through them. "The Hachibi?"

"Appears like it. They're targeting the newly appointed Kazekage of Sunagakure too because he's the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi."

The Fifth Hokage looked up at the concealed man. "And Naruto?"

"Him, too. From what I've heard, they'll capture the Shukaku first since they couldn't go after Naruto with Jiraiya accompanying him on his training. The Hachibi would be their second option if they failed with the Kyuubi. It's a sad situation with the Hachibi, though."

The Legendary Sannin rested her chin on her folded hands. "Why is that?"

"The jinchuuriki of the Hachibi, like all hosts, is loathed by her village members. If the time comes, maybe they'll just offer her to the Akatsuki no problem,"

"Where is she residing now?"

"At Amegakure. The Akatsuki doesn't know it yet but, there were hearsays that she is living there that the Akatsuki leader conquered the place for security purposes."

Tsunade noticed a picture clipped on the file. "Who's this?"

"The only one who knows where the jinchuuriki of the Hachibi is exactly located,"

x x x

How could she possibly forget that face? Well, it was reasonable enough since a year already passed when she first heard about those information. And she chose to bury the file deep inside her office so no one would see. It was top-secret, after all. If word got out where the jinchuuriki of the Hachibi was currently sited, she would not only be giving the Akatsuki a lead but, she would also be putting the girl's life in danger. And as a Hokage, she felt responsible for innocent lives even beyond the borders of Konoha.

It was very unfortunate that the Shukaku was possessed by them, though. She tried warning Gaara about it by sending some Konoha ninjas there to caution him but, they took no heed—saying that how could the Akatsuki probably kidnap a Kazekage at his very own village? And who knew they could actually can?

She was looking out through her office's window contemplatively. She just sent her three top chuunins—all female ninjas at that—to their death. Upon confirming her doubts, she realized the C-rank escort mission was now an S-ranked one for it involves a jinchuuriki and the Akatsuki. Whoever sent that request letter to Konoha lied and she would make sure they would pay. They just lied to Konoha's obstinate Hokage. They just placed three of her female ninjas in jeopardy.

But, then, she perhaps appealed for escorts to protect her. Her safety might be in peril now because she was the only one who knew about the Hachibi. And the Akatsuki may have already comprehended that and they were now pursuing her. They would stop at nothing now that they have acquired seven of the bijuus. But, why lie? She would've sent her jounins if she knew the case beforehand. And would've the escorts coming to Amegakure, especially from Konoha, spark skepticism from the Akatsuki?

It was still all confusing for her as she didn't know what was lurking inside the minds of those creeps. But, there was one thing she was really certain of—and that was to protect her fellow Konoha ninjas. And that was why she summoned him.

The door creaked open. He was here. "You wanted to see me, Godaime-sama?"

She turned around, meeting his expressionless white eyes. "Hai, Hyuuga Neji. This concerns three ninjas from your age group,"

If this was about Naruto, he had heard basically enough. He didn't think Lee would be the type to go hunting for trouble too. "Which ninjas, Godaime-sama?"

Tsunade sat down on her chair, her elbows on her desk and her hands folded in front of her. "It's about Yamanaka Ino, Tenten and your cousin Hyuuga Hinata,"

His stoic façade suddenly grew anxious. Hinata-sama? And Tenten? _His_ Tenten? He wondered in panic what happened to them. Godaime-sama wasn't the type of Hokage who would actually beckon someone—especially a jounin like him—if it wasn't something real important, or life threatening at that.

"What about them?" His voice raised an unexpected notch of unease, he knew that much.

The Hokage's face remained inscrutable. "They went for an S-rank mission,"

xXx

She successfully planted a mighty punch on his face after consecutive misses, sending the man colliding on a tree trunk. She smirked. And whoever said pretty girls weren't tough? The man stood up almost right away, blood dripping down his lips. She went into her fighting position again, pulling out yet another kunai from her pocket.

She had already scarred his cheek with one of her kunais but, beyond that, she had never really injured him that severe. From past battles she had been on, it was always best to know what the enemy would be capable of before unleashing your techniques. He hadn't used any jutsus yet so; she resulted on an all-out taijutsu assault. Of course, she wasn't that skilled on taijutsu-styled combat but, she knew how to fight with her bare fists and karate kicks. She also had this ample knowledge on martial arts performance that she could pull off death-defying stunts too.

She would go all mind-controlling later—she already cooked up a plan on how to do that without raising even the slightest misgiving. She looked around and saw her two other teammates engaged in their own encounters as well. She saw Tenten using two large swords and maneuvering them with much ease. One of her opponents went down unconscious and another and another as she planted the two sharp objects on the ground, used them as support while she raised her feet and kicked her foes in all directions. Hinata, meanwhile, had her Byakugan on while she ran to one of her rivals and released an amount of chakra from her open palm—sending the man collapsing down the ground. Another one of her enemies ran to her but even before he got close, she punched him rapidly on the face.

The shooting of so many weapons a while ago made a very good tactic to baffle their opponents. And because Ino and Hinata already saw it coming, they already took on their positions and tackled their chosen foes. The man, who most likely was their leader, anticipated it too that when Ino came for him, he already dodged her punch.

And now, the inexorable fight had begun. They didn't really have a choice in the matter. This was needed for their mission to succeed.

"That all you got, blondie?" He asked proudly, wiping away the blood on his mouth with the back of his hand.

Ino smirked, placing her right hand on her hip. "Not even close,"

"Ah!" Hinata yelped when one of her foes kicked her from behind. She tumbled down the terrain but, she quickly turned around, her bloodline still activated. All of a sudden, their rivals disappeared—Tenten's, Hinata's, even the stubborn man Ino was fighting.

"What's happening?" Tenten called out in apprehension.

Hinata slapped one of her enemies and punched the other as she stood up. "They're just invisible. I can still see them, though." She jumped quickly on a nearby tree branch, dodging kunais that flew right towards her by evading them using her own kunai in the process. "Tenten-san, watch out! They're gonna attack you in a circle!"

With that warning still on air, Tenten got her scroll and spread them around her in a fast movement—sending her multitude of weapons shooting through her foes and killing some of them too. She felt the wind rising from her right suddenly and when it did, she jumped in the air and kicked her final opponent straight onto his chest. Not satisfied by it, Tenten grabbed one of her spare kunais and lodged it on her enemy's throat, giving way to his untimely demise.

She landed on the ground on her two solid feet, an angry look on her face. On the other hand, Hinata was still fighting with her rivals when the man Ino was fighting came running towards her. "Ino-san, be careful! He's gonna attack you straight-on!"

Ino tried escaping his assail but, she was too late. The man punched her on her stomach, sending her colliding on a tree trunk unconscious. "Ino!" Tenten shouted after her and when she was about to come to her aid, one of Hinata's enemies threw an explosive tag in front of her. The weapon exploded, throwing the brown-haired kunoichi plummeting down the ground roughly.

Hinata punched another one of her opponents out cold but, something bewildered her. One of her rivals retreated from her, disappeared and reappeared behind the man Ino was battling. He encircled his right arm around his neck upon arriving at his back and grabbed a kunai from his pocket hastily, trapping him.

"I told you, I don't get knocked out that easily." The man whispered to him in a forbidding tone. The stubborn man was shocked. He didn't expect this, not by a long shot. So, the medic nin was a mind-controller? Who knew? And since, she transferred herself into the body of one of his comrades, she could see him now.

Hinata smiled. She used the Shintenshin without raising suspicion quite impressively. She already used her jutsu even before she was punched and her lifeless state now was not because of that assault but, because of her renowned technique. Remarkable, indeed.

Tenten got up almost unscathed. Seeing Hinata smiling and looking at nothing made her puzzled for a brief moment. And then she figured out that something good might've happened. After all, the Hyuuga heiress wouldn't be smiling like that for nothing.

"I guess it's a goodbye? And here I am—having so much fun, too." Ino mocked as she dragged the kunai down the man's throat fast, slitting his esophagus with no mercy. Blood gushed out of his open wound while his wail gradually died down along with the rest of him.

The blonde kunoichi smirked. "Here I thought he was a tough one," She declared. The Yamanaka used her jutsu again to go back to her original body.

Upon arrival, she stood up hastily. The man she borrowed the body from was currently looking around in confusion. "Finish him off, Hinata." Ino stated, glancing back up at the Hyuuga.

"H-Hai!" Hinata assured. She landed on the ground safely, ran quickly to where the baffled guy was then she used her Juuken Ryuu style of battling to finish him off. She did it successfully as her two other Konoha ninjas watched the opponent fall.

"Nyah, we need a group hug!" Ino shouted triumphantly, a wide smile plastered on her face. She looked at her two teammates with much glee. Her happiness seemed to be mirrored by her two fellow kunoichi—only slightly lesser than hers.

"Any of you hurt?" She inquired when Hinata and Tenten arrived by her side.

The weapons kunoichi smiled. "Nothing serious. Hinata, you?"

She smiled meekly at her. "I-Iie…"

Ino grinned upon hearing their answer. She then placed her hands to her hips. "Those losers were so easy to beat. Makes me wonder something…"

"Me too," Tenten replied, her brows furrowing. She glanced at both of her teammates. "Are they really ninjas?"

"T-They can be missing-nins from A-Amegakure," Hinata chimed in.

"From what I know, Amegakure missing-nins are powerful and skilled ninjas. They have already turned their shinobi curriculum a bit higher when none of the Amegakure teams made it pass the second test in our first chuunin exams back then," Ino stated, rubbing her chin with her right hand.

Tenten raised a brow. "Peeking into Godaime-sama's files again?"

"That and Chouji had a mission with Kiba and the others before with Amegakure missing-nins ambushing them," Ino riposted perceptively. "And boy were they mighty! Chouji was bed-ridden for a week after that mission,"

Bed-ridden? So they were indeed potent, Tenten thought. But what happened a while ago? How could they have still persisted on battling with invisibility jutsus when they knew from the start that Hinata can see them?

Hinata's face grew serious. "N-Now, I know…"

Ino looked at her. "Know what?"

"F-First I thought they were just missing-nins but t-then, there were no chakra lines flowing inside t-them… T-They might not be n-ninjas at all,"

Tenten frowned. "Or worse…"

Hinata and Ino glanced at their mission leader.

"They might not even be human,"

xXx

"You sent them to what?" He never thought his voice could boom like this. It echoed inside the hollow structure of the Hokage's office, almost deafening Tsunade for a fleeting moment. She glanced up at his angry look. It was reasonable for him to get enraged like this. She just accidentally sent his cousin and his girlfriend in an S-rank mission that spelled tragedy all over. She was at fault, she could admit as much. She even promised that she wouldn't let this happen to her fellow female ninjas and here she was committing the same mistake all over again.

How could she be so foolish for a Hokage with a mighty principle?

"How could you, Godaime-sama? Tenten never leaves to an S-rank mission without me. Same goes for Hinata-sama. And you sent them to a mission wherein they're all females? How could you commit such a horrendous error? Are you even capable of that?" He bellowed. If he weren't looking at Tsunade in high regard, he would've already closed all of her 64 tanketsu points in fury.

Tsunade stood up suddenly, infuriated. She should've understood that Neji had a short temper. But, short temper or not, she was still the Hokage and she would not stand such a retort. "That is why I'm sending you there! Fix what you have to fix,"

The intractable Hokage then sighed after looking at him straight on his equally fuming eyes. "Fix what you _want_ to fix,"

Her words stung him for a pithy moment, recalling how Tenten and he fought. He looked down on the floor upon hearing her sentence, his temper flaring still. "If anything happens to her, you'll have to answer to me." He muttered in a forbidding whisper, glancing at the female Hokage with seething orbs.

He turned around, walked away from her silently and opened the door but before he could exit her office, he halted. "And I don't think you would want another missing-nin in the list of your troubles, Godaime-sama." He said with his back facing her, loud enough for the both of them to hear.

Tsunade smirked. Yes, she indeed chose the right man for the job.

xXx

Thanks for reading and please review! xP


	5. Mission

All will be revealed in this chapter

All will be revealed in this chapter. Hope you all like it!

Naruto is owned rightfully by Masashi Kishimoto.

xXx

**Chapter Five:** Mission

"Great, I think the battle made Tenten lose a few screws in her head. Now, she's trying to be scary." Ino teased, a smirk playing on her lips. "Next time, do it with those gruesome make-ups they have in the movies."

Tenten slapped herself mentally. "Inooo… I'm serious!"

The blonde Yamanaka laughed. "Okay, okay. I was just easing the ambiance, that's all. Geez, you two are so serious!"

Another slap. "Really, Ino…" Tenten muttered, heaving out a sigh.

Ino grinned at the two. "What are we waiting for? We have a woman to escort, remember?"

Hinata smiled. "H-Hai. We should set out now,"

"That's the spirit, Hinata! Mission leader, you?"

Tenten sighed once more before smiling wide. "Hai, hai!"

All three nodded at each other as they jumped onto tree branches nearer to them. They jumped onto another and onto another as they persistently carried on their mission. Unknown to them though were a pair of eyes mutely watching their retreating forms.

xXx

So, she miscalculated their travel time. Seemed like only two days would be enough to reach Amegakure as they were now in front of the village's gates. The place was insanely humid and the wind that blows from time to time appeared to be scorching their skins instead of alleviating the clamminess they were now feeling. Amegakure nins appeared not far from the village's entrance, their identities concealed. There was this inerasable tension building in their surroundings upon their appearance.

"Who are you?" Was the calm inquiry of one of them.

Tenten cleared her throat. "We're Konoha ninjas and we--"

"What do you want?" Came another abrupt question.

"We're here to escort a young woman named Ayumi and--" Ino was cut off by another query.

"Are you sure?"

The blonde kunoichi was getting a bit annoyed. "What kind of question is that? Of course, we're sure!"

"I-Ino-san, calm down…" Hinata whispered to the Yamanaka.

"You three may now enter,"

"Finally! You two have more questions?" Ino replied, sarcasm dripping from her tone. She glared at the Amegakure ninjas before they started entering the village premises.

"Ino, take it easy. We don't know what's stirring inside the minds of those ninjas. We should be careful from here on out. We are in their territory now, after all." Tenten warned in a murmur, only loud enough for them to hear.

"They're just so irritating! I mean, it's not like we're gonna conquer their village, you know. What do we look like? Assassins? I'm too pretty for that," Ino muttered, walking coolly inside the village grounds.

Amegakure was nothing compared to Konoha. The village was full of pipes here and there and the houses seemed to be built above those towering pipes put together. Even though it was a sunny day out, the village looked as if it was darker than grey and damper than the rainy season in Konoha. The edifices looked like they weren't finished yet and only metal pipes furnished them. There were water puddles in every corner they lay their eyes on, probably coming from leaking pipes. The three kunoichi looked around and Ino couldn't help but roll her eyes. It wouldn't hurt to clean their village once in a while, she thought.

"Where do we start finding that woman?" Tenten asked unexpectedly, still looking around the village.

Ino shrugged. "Beats me,"

"I-I think we can ask people by showing her p-picture around," Hinata suggested and her sudden proposition made her two teammates glance at her with smiles beginning to play on their lips.

"That's a great idea," The two of them answered in unison.

xXx

Two days until Amegakure. He didn't know if he could wait nor travel that long knowing that she's possibly in peril this very moment. If he did the math right, two days would take him to reach the village but, then those three would've probably escorted the woman and were on their way to Kumogakure by then. Four days would take them to arrive at that village in Lightning Country so, when he enters Amegakure, those three would be halfway on their journey to Kumogakure.

If that would be the case, he must speed up his travel. Those three girls didn't know what they have gotten themselves into and anything could happen once they have escorted that woman out of Amegakure's gates. And since it was an escort mission in their point of view, they would be trekking by foot and not jumping through tree branches. That would be suicide if the Akatsuki was indeed targeting to ambush them.

The Hyuuga genius jumped onto another tree branch. This was serious. Why Tenten? Why Hinata-sama? Why would that damn woman request girls instead of guys to escort her? It would've been easier if male chuunins would be the one to take on this mission. If the mission would go wrong, just like what was currently happening, male ninjas could simply adjust to the situation.

He wasn't being biased though if he believes in that opinion. Many occurrences have already proven the equality of the male and female shinobi population, Godaime-sama could attest to that. But, this was different. These girls were just chuunins and two of them were close to him. It wasn't like he doubted their skills as kunoichi but, he didn't like seeing them getting hurt nor getting killed at that. He was even surprised he could build such attachments to them.

Something was still bothering him, though. If the Akatsuki knew that that woman was the sole person who knew about the Hachibi, why did they allow the request letter to Konoha be sent? Wouldn't it have saved them a lot more time and effort if they just kidnapped the woman inside Amegakure, dish out all the information they needed from her and find the jinchuuriki? Why let Konoha ninjas escort her out from Amegakure when they're just going to ambush the woman all the same?

He pondered for a while and then a realization shot through him like a fast-paced bullet. If his hunch just now was true, then he had to reach them quick. Or else.

It would be too late.

xXx

The room was really obscure; it'll come as a surprise how he was able to see something through its darkness. But, he was a skilled ninja and a very mysterious one at that. The shadows and the dusk seemed to be appallingly familiar to him as he was living in a gloom that was slowly engulfing his entire being. He was the leader of that formidable group that wore those cloaks with red clouds. Yes, he was an Akatsuki, plain and simple. An Akatsuki ruling Amegakure.

"Pain-sama," A voice called out inside the room. "I come bearing news,"

"What is it? Is it concerning those Konoha ninjas?"

"Hai, Pain-sama. We, along with those clones you made, checked them out in the village outskirts just as you wished. They were all females, just as planned. One is an expert on weapons, the other a medic mind-controller and another is a Hyuuga,"

"Is it going to be hard to capture even one of them?"

"Hai. Seems like they are really skilled. The mind-controller even used her technique on me. It appears like she had planned her assault beforehand. The weapons kunoichi is skilled with her weapons too. She can carry all of her weapons in this big scroll and she can wield them just by summoning them,"

"And the Hyuuga?"

"She's experienced as well,"

"We'll capture her. The Hyuuga family knows a lot about Konoha's secrets. We can extract all the needed information from her," He smirked and threw a kunai as swift as the wind towards the voice. The sound of flesh ripping out and blood gushing made his smirk widen even more. "You've been very good but, I'm afraid we don't need you anymore."

"I'm still wondering why you want those Konoha ninjas here in Amegakure, Pain." A voice suddenly spoke up.

"Haven't you been listening, Konan? We need even one of them to find more about the Kyuubi,"

"So, you made sure that that request letter coming from her be sent to Konoha no problem?"

His smirk was evident even in the obscurity. "Yes, to make sure that they escort her. We already threatened her safety, it just goes to follow that she'll request for escorts by disguising the letter so that it wouldn't spark suspicion from us. But, that cheesy letter was too easy to read. So, I captured that boy she assigned to send the letter. I altered some information in the memo, changing the address from Iwagakure to Konohagakure and making up that whole perversion thing to make sure they'll send only female ninjas. Why capture only the Hachibi when I can capture the Kyuubi too? Like what they say, why not kill two birds with just one stone?"

"But, why choose female ninjas?"

"Female ninjas are easy to beat and capture. They won't put up much of a fuss,"

"I'll take that as an insult,"

He chuckled darkly. "Really, Konan."

"So, who are you gonna send to capture those two? Or are you gonna greet them personally?"

"I don't do personal business especially when they're not the jinchuuriki. I'll let two of my loyal minions do the work. You'll see," He smirked yet again. "They don't fail,"

xXx

Ino slumped down on the ground in defeat, exhaling a heavy sigh. "It's either this woman doesn't exist or she's just anti-social,"

Tenten glanced back at the blonde-haired kunoichi. "Ehh, don't give up, Ino! Someone here's bound to know where she is,"

Amegakure town's people passed by them, almost every one of them eyeing the three suspiciously. Hinata was still trying to find out where the woman resides by showing off her picture and inquiring politely the next person to pass by. Tenten was doing the same by helping the Hyuuga ask around.

"You know what, there's something fishy about this." Ino announced, gradually standing up. "Why wouldn't anyone know where she is when she's supposed to be this sole heiress in a mighty clan here?"

The medic nin's sudden query made the two kunoichi halt what they were doing. "You're right," Tenten replied, looking back at the blonde-haired lass. Hinata was anxious as well.

"Why wouldn't anyone here know where she is when she's supposed to be famous?" The brown-haired ninja continued, her brows creasing slowly. This was getting really peculiar. How come nobody knows where she lives? Wasn't somehow given that a mighty clan in a village should be prominent around its parts?

"I don't like where this is going," Tenten muttered, deep in thought. Ino's brows were furrowed as well as she stared at their mission leader in apprehension.

"Then, we should find out where she lives fast for us to know what's exactly going on," The Yamanaka replied, glancing at Hinata's likewise uneasy orbs.

"H-Hai. I'll resume what I'm doing," Hinata nodded, restarting her search.

Tenten nodded as well and helped the Byakugan user. Ino joined her two comrades in their pursuit as she began questioning passers by too. Minutes ticked by and the three girls were still unsuccessful until a woman came by their way.

"I know her," She stated simply, looking up at the three Konoha ninjas.

"Really? Could you tell us where she lives?" Tenten inquired somehow excited. Finally, someone knew where she dwelled.

The woman still wore that bored look on her face. "Take that road over there and turn right. Then turn left at the first junction, walk straight on and there you'll see her house,"

"A-Arigatou!" Hinata beamed while her two companions ran off to the street the woman pointed out. She followed them suit, running off to join them. When they reached the first junction, a drop of water trickled down and another and another. Soon, rain fell down in heavy sheets, blinding everyone in Amegakure with its surreal magnificence.

xXx

"That was really weird. It's a sunny day out before we entered Amegakure then, it rains heavily like this. This village sure is odd," Ino complained, drying out her wet blonde hair. Hinata was drying her hair, too, while Tenten was fixing her hair buns.

"Since we started this mission, everything seemed to be unusual." Tenten agreed as she finished tying her hair again.

Hinata smiled. "I-It's a good thing we found this closed shop with an extended roof so w-we can wait under here until the rain stops,"

"Good thing, too. Her house is not that far from here now, right?" The blonde medic nin asked, looking around the street that was now being soaked by the heavy rain.

"We'll just have to take that left street over there, go straight ahead and we'll be able to reach her house," Tenten explained, gesturing at the not-so far away lane.

"Good. I can't wait to get this mission done and over with. I need a serious bubble bath," Ino replied, sighing. She leaned lazily on the wall behind her as she crossed her arms before her chest.

Tenten smirked. "You can have your bath now, Ino. Just step out there and all that is missing would be the soap,"

"Haha, Tenten. Very funny,"

The weapons kunoichi laughed. "I think you're just using the bubble bath as an excuse to speed up this mission. I guess you're missing Chouji instead, am I right or am I correct?"

Hinata giggled.

The Yamanaka suddenly stood straight up. "Eeeew! Get real, Tenten. I don't want to be married to someone who looks at his wife like a slave in the kitchen, you know."

"But, ever since we went to this mission, I've been hearing his name from you many times already."

Ino glared at their mission leader. "It's just that he's the nearest person I can have a decent conversation with being on the same team and all. Even though he does talk about food occasionally, he's quite bearable especially now that we're all chuunins. He kinda lays off the perpetual talks about food at times,"

Tenten's smirk seemed to be resolute as she raised a brow towards the blonde mind-controller. "Whatever happened to the 'I hate Chouji and I love Sasuke' notion you have?"

Ino looked out on the street that was being kept drenched by the ceaseless rain—her eyes having an inerasable tinge of sadness. "I guess people just grow up, you know? When Sasuke left Konoha, a part of me went along with him. I think that part was my childhood fantasies of knights in shining armor in mighty steeds. I came to realize that not all endings are happily-ever-afters and not all princes will sweep you off your feet,"

"Ino…" The brown-haired lass murmured but, the noisy spattering of the rain onto the roof above them swallowed her whisper. She stared at the blonde who kept watching the rain fall endlessly.

"It is sad that Sasuke left Konoha many years ago. It inevitably changed almost everyone in town especially Naruto and Sakura," Tenten muttered, glancing back at the medic nin. "And I didn't realize it changed you too, Ino."

"B-But, Uchiha-san was wrong when he did that!" Hinata's unpredicted statement startled the two girls as they looked at her abruptly.

"H-He was being selfish. He didn't understand that many people care for him. I-I could see the hurt in N-Naruto-kun's eyes whenever I talk to him. T-They're not like before. T-They're sadder now," She continued, her lips quivering as she looked down.

"Hinata…" Ino whispered, aghast at the sudden outburst of the Hyuuga heiress. She never heard the shy girl voice out her opinion before and somehow hearing them leaves a stinging sensation inside her. Everyone was indeed growing up.

Hinata looked up again after much silence, her white eyes gleaming unyieldingly. "S-So, that's why I'm gonna do my best to make N-Naruto-kun proud! So that, h-he'll be happy for me. S-So that, I wouldn't see his hurting eyes again."

Tenten's lips tugged up into a faint smile. "Hinata…"

"G-Gomen nasai for m-my sudden outburst," She said, her cheeks tainted pink.

Ino grinned. "Heh, that's okay! It's quite refreshing to hear you speak out your point of view. You should do it more often,"

"Yeah, so that we can hear you out. It's not like everyday we get teamed up like this," Tenten concurred, the same grin plastered on her face.

Hinata merely nodded timidly as the weapons kunoichi patted her shoulder with her left hand. Ino just grinned elatedly.

"Yatta, go Tres Marias!" She shouted, raising her right fist in exhilaration.

"GO!" Her two comrades shouted back in unison. Their laughter seemed to drown out the sound of the intense rain.

xXx

Her house was nothing you would expect for a mighty clan, for a sole heiress or for a rich woman at that. Those things wouldn't even cross your mind upon laying your eyes on her dwelling place that when the three ninjas stood in front of her house, they were bewildered. Was really the rich woman who they were going to escort lives in this place? A place that looked like everyone else's here in Amegakure?

"Uhm, is anyone there?" Tenten called out, knocking on the metal door of the edifice.

The door opened after a few successive knocks and it revealed a woman in her early thirties with a worn-out look gracing her features. She looked like she just cleaned the whole house from top to bottom without break. "W-What do you want? Who are you, people? If you're one of them, please leave me alone!"

She was about to close the door shut when Ino inserted her right foot inside to prevent her. "We're Konoha ninjas assigned to escort you, ma'am. Are you Ms. Ayumi, by any chance?"

"K-Konoha ninjas? I didn't ask for Konoha ninjas," The woman was confused, almost lost in her own train of thought.

"But, it specifically says here in your request letter that you need escorts for you to vacate to Kumogakure because bandits are after you," Tenten clarified to the restless woman.

Her wide orbs met theirs. "H-How did you know I requested for escorts? I sent that letter to Iwagakure asking the same thing,"

Tenten glanced at her two companions in perplexity for a moment before she looked at the worried woman once more. "How could that be? We have your letter right here and your picture," She replied, handing the woman the letter and her picture.

Upon receiving them, she stared at them in disbelief for a long time before she looked up at the three girls again. "T-This can't be. They're really after me. They'll never leave me alone!"

Ino, by now, was baffled more than ever. "Who, ma'am? We're here to help! Who? Those bandits?"

She looked down and they never noticed the tears flowing down her cheeks until she glanced back at them. "No, the Akatsuki."

xXx

Thanks for reading and please tell me what you all think. xD


	6. Assault

Here's chapter six, enjoy

Here's chapter six, enjoy!

I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto has full ownership to it.

xXx

**Chapter Six:** Assault

The name made their hearts skip a beat as they looked at each other in astonishment. The Akatsuki? There was nothing about them that was mentioned in the mission assignment. All they knew was that this was a simple C-rank escort mission and that was it. But, if this was indeed about that fearsome group, then they were now in a deep turmoil. A deep, deep turmoil.

"That couldn't be, ma'am. This is a simple escort mission; it says so here in the mission assignment. How come the Akatsuki is involved?" Ino was getting even more befuddled.

The woman opened the door wide enough for them to enter. "Come on in. It's not safe to discuss it here," She gestured for them to go in as she went into the kitchen to fix some tea. The three ninjas went inside the house and when they were all in, Tenten cautiously closed the door behind them.

They sat on the stools in the small living room with puzzlement still gracing their features. The woman joined them not long after with a tray of teacups. She placed them on the small center table before them, motioning for them to get some. Only Ino dared get one and drink the chamomile flavored tea.

The woman then sat on a stool opposite the three, her face calmer than the first time they met her. "I am Ayumi. Ikumoto Ayumi. And I did ask for escorts but, not from Konohagakure. I distinctly remember asking for some from Iwagakure,"

"Iwagakure? But, how come the request letter was sent to Konoha instead?" Tenten asked, apprehension showing past her determined façade.

She turned her head to the side, looking contemplative. "I can see no other reason but, for the Akatsuki to alter the letter."

"Why would they do that?" Came Ino's inquiry when she finished sipping another cup full of tea.

"I don't know. Ever since Pain conquered this place, he's in full control of the whole village. Maybe it was foolish of me to even try and ask for help but, what can I do? They threatened my safety. They'll kill me if I don't tell them what they need to know," Her voice started to shake in her last sentence and tears were threatening to spill from her eyes once more.

Hinata took the cup of tea intended for her. "B-But, what do they want from you, A-Ayumi-san? W-Why would they want to kill you?"

She took a deep breath, preparing herself of what was to come. "Because I know where the jinchuuriki of the Hachibi is located,"

Hinata dropped the teacup in shock. Only the sound of it shattering into a million pieces was the only thing that could be heard amidst the silence. Tenten's eyes were wide and Ino's features grew aghast. The Hachibi? What have they gotten themselves into?

"The… Hachibi?" Tenten queried, her face still shock-stricken. "You… you can't be serious. This is an escort mission for a rich woman named Ayumi and--" She looked at the woman in front of her dressed in ordinary clothes. She glanced around her house that doesn't seem out of the ordinary.

"The whole thing was a lie, huh?" The weapons mistress continued, frowning.

By now, a single tear managed to escape from her eyes. "I didn't mean it to look like that. If I told the truth in the letter, it'll become suspicious and it'll never reach its destination. Worse, they'll kill me for asking for help."

"But, look what they have done! They altered the letter all the same! They know you're asking for help, they're still in control!" Ino riposted, her voice turning louder and louder with each sentence.

Ayumi stood up half because of anger, half because of desperation. "Was it wrong to ask for help? I just want to keep myself safe; I just want to keep my niece safe!"

"It's wrong when you lied to the people you're gonna ask help to! I'm sure Iwagakure ninjas would feel the same way when you drag them in this mayhem!" Ino retorted, standing up as well. "Come on, guys. Let's get out of here. I don't want to escort a liar,"

When the blonde Yamanaka was about to leave the living room, Ayumi ran to her and knelt before her as she grabbed the medic nin's right hand. "Please, don't leave! Help me all of you! Help me!" She was sobbing uncontrollably, staring up at Ino with pleading and tear-stricken eyes.

The mind-controller glanced at her two teammates who were still sitting down. "But, this is not our mission, you guys. Our mission is to escort a rich woman because powerful shinobi bandits are after her. Tsunade-sama would throw a fit when she finds out we escorted otherwise,"

Tenten stood up, took a glimpse at the weeping woman then onto Ino. "Our mission is to escort a woman from Amegakure to Kumogakure. Regardless of who she is or whether or not she lied to us, she's still a civilian who needs ninjas to protect her. We're gonna escort her nonetheless, that's our mission."

Hinata was the next to stand up as she helped Ayumi get up too. "A-And I don't think abandoning a woman in need w-would be the right thing to do," She smiled at Ino who, in return, just sighed in defeat.

"Fine. We'll escort her. I don't want to abandon my teammates as well, anyway." After her statement, Ino smiled, gaining smiles from her companions and from Ayumi as well.

"Oh thank you, thank you!" The woman beamed euphorically. "I'll get you all more tea!" She quickly ran to the kitchen, humming a catchy melody to herself.

"Now that's all cleared up, there's something bothering me, though." Tenten muttered when all of them sat on the stools again. "If the Akatsuki indeed changed the letter, what do they want from us and why do they want female ninjas?"

"Maybe they're bored and want some sizzling hot fun!" Ino joked. "And we all know Konoha kunoichi are pretty ladies! Just look at Tsunade-sama, I think she had many guys drooling after that huge chest of hers,"

Hinata blushed.

Tenten mentally slapped her forehead once more. "Inooo… I'm serious!"

"Here we go with the serious atmosphere again! You really are becoming like your boyfriend Neji!"

The weapons mistress stood right away. "Okay, let's play tag! You're it!"

"EH?!" Ino stared at their mission leader in disbelief.

"I thought you don't want the serious Tenten? Come on, let's play!"

Ino's face grew dim. "Really, Tenten. You have a knack for overdoing things," She said softly, watching the brown-haired lass jump up and down ecstatically.

xXx

The diminutive house had two rooms and one was generously offered to the three girls to sleep in. There were only two beds, though, so Ino presented that she would just sleep in her sleeping bag. The three just finished changing into their pajamas and night wears and were fixing their beds when Ino brought up the topic she was tirelessly inquiring even before they reached Amegakure.

"Come on now, Tenten. What happened to you and Neji?"

Tenten almost fell. "I told you I'll tell you everything when this mission turns out successful,"

Ino smirked. "But, this mission isn't the simple one now. We don't even know if we're gonna make it out alive. You don't have any more excuses, young lady. You can't weasel your way out now,"

The brown-haired lass sighed. "You just have to bring it up, huh, Ino? Fine, fine. I'll tell you,"

Ino clapped her hands. "Oh, I'm so excited!" She sat down on her sleeping bag comfortably as she gestured for Hinata to sit on her bed and listen as well.

"He forgot our very first official date," Tenten said simply, glancing at her two companions with an inscrutable face.

Ino was dumbfounded. "That… that was just horrendous! How could Neji forget such an important event?"

"I-I'm sure he has a very reasonable explanation…" Hinata chimed in.

"Reasonable explanation? Hinata, it doesn't mean that even though Neji is your cousin, you'll defend him in matters like this. A guy must know all official dates," Ino retorted and when she looked at Tenten, she looked at her worryingly. "How are you holding up?"

"Baah, I'm okay. You need not worry yourself silly," Tenten replied, forcing out a smile. A smile that seemed so foreign, so out of place that even her was amazed she could pull out such a thing. She was never the type of person that would be pretentious about her feelings, she's straightforward. Tenten was straightforward. So, who was this girl smiling at her comrades with a smile so forced?

Ino smirked. "Know what, your eyes are saying the exact opposite."

She glanced at the witty medic nin before she looked down. "I'm okay, really. I'm fine. This will all go away once we make this mission a successful one," Tenten smiled again, this time slightly genuine than the other.

The blonde Yamanaka stood up and began preparing herself for bed. "There's a saying that if you keep everything in, it'll burst out tenfold, you know."

All of a sudden, Ayumi entered their room with some cookies on a tray. She smiled at the three and beckoned them to get some as she placed the tray carefully on their bedside table. "You can help yourselves with those. Don't worry, there's no poison or anything of that sort,"

Once more, only Ino got some of the cookies giddily while asking Ayumi if they have extra calories in them. The woman shook her head no amusingly. Tenten watched the blonde munching merrily before averting her gaze on Ayumi.

"I distinctly remember you telling us that the jinchuuriki is your niece. Where is she now?" She knew asking this would be a risk. But, she had to take it or else her curiosity won't let her sleep.

Ayumi's face grew sadder before she smiled wistfully. "She's in Tea Country. Our family had been the jinchuuriki of the Hachibi for generations. The bijuu has no seal so every time someone dies, it just goes to the next vessel. A skilled ninja, though, finally performed some seal on my niece to ensure that she would be the last jinchuuriki. We had always kept it as a family secret regarding the Hachibi but when word got out when one of my relatives accidentally told an Akatsuki informant, my sister and my brother kept her at Tea Country,"

"W-Why did you choose to be left behind?" Hinata asked.

The woman looked down. "I was about to follow them the next day but, Pain suddenly tightened the security. So, since then, I'm living alone here at Amegakure. I changed my name and everything to keep my identity secret because there are rumors that the Akatsuki know that the Hachibi resided here,"

"So, I see…" Tenten murmured, staring at the floor contemplatively. By now, Ino had already finished her third cookie.

Ayumi's face suddenly grew lighter as she glanced at the three. "If you don't mind, I'm just curious. I haven't met any female ninjas yet and I'm just wondering… is it hard being one? I mean, being a ninja is usually a male's job and I could understand how grueling it is,"

"Well, being a kunoichi is hard with all the training and nails you always chip off while fighting. But, we chose this because we want to prove to everyone—especially to those males and to ourselves—that we can do it. That not only males can be ninjas and kick butt because us girls kick twice as more," Ino replied cleverly, still munching. Hinata smiled at her response and nodded modestly.

Tenten, too, couldn't help but agree. "We may live in a patriarchal world but, that doesn't mean us females should give up on doing what we_ can_ and_ love_ to do. Because we're not just here to deliver a seven-pound human through a tiny hole, we're not just here to wash dishes, garden and do the laundry, and surely we're not here to serve the presumptuous male population. We're here to make a difference in this world in a career we decide to do. It just so happened that being a shinobi is what we chose,"

"They all may say that we're the weaker sex but, we're not. It's obvious men can't live without us, right Tenten?" Ino smirked, winking at the weapons kunoichi. Tenten, in turn, winked as well.

Ayumi couldn't contain a smile as she listened to the girls before her. All her life she had been living in the shadows, afraid of fighting for her rights but now, seeing all these young females risking their lives battling skilled and older ninjas, sparked something inside her. Being a female should never be a hindrance in defending what was important to you. Because gender's just distinguished by a two-letter prefix added and two-letter prefix or not, she was still a human being—existing, living and breathing. No one deserved to undergo any prejudices.

"You know what, I admire you three…"

The woman's out of the blue statement made the female ninjas gaze at her in surprise. "I've been used to thinking that as a female, I'm flimsy. That when the Akatsuki threatened me, I didn't fight and just cried endlessly. But now, seeing you three talk about this in a new light, the hope I lost when I was still a child suddenly became alive."

The three smiled. "Well, I'm glad we enlightened you. Us females should never be put down!" Ino riposted, gaining nods from her comrades.

Ayumi returned their smile. "I know that now,"

xXx

They were up even before the sun said hello. It was still dusk when Tenten decided to set out and no one protested, thinking that the earlier, the better. The weapons kunoichi silently knocked out the guards with her kunais as they exited the gates of Amegakure. They were stealthy and silent, thinking that if the Akatsuki was indeed targeting to ambush them, putting up a surreptitious mode of leaving would increase the chance of them not being followed.

Surely, they chose to trek by foot and again in the formation Tenten devised earlier on—the only difference was that Ayumi was in between Ino and Hinata. Chances were that the Akatsuki probably would be trailing them from behind so, two nins protecting the woman's back should slow down their advances.

They trudged down the forest quietly, no chit-chat ensued between the females. Hinata had her Byakugan on in the event of possible surprise attack. Now that they had left Amegakure and escorting the woman the Akatsuki was after, anything could happen now and it would be best to be prepared.

After almost two hours of walking, Hinata halted—making the three females behind her stop as well. "S-Something's amiss… I've seen this tree before. We had definitely passed by here fifteen minutes ago,"

Tenten's face grew anxious. "What? Are you sure, Hinata?"

"P-Positive. I can't forget that nest inside the tree. I remembered it the first time we passed by,"

All of a sudden, Ino trapped Tenten from behind and Ayumi did the same with Hinata—their faces contorted with malice. "Foolish bitches! Do you honestly think you can escape Pain-sama?" They both asked in a forbidding tone, getting a kunai from their pockets and positioning them centimeters away from their captive's throats.

"Ino, Ayumi-san! What's going on?" Tenten queried, her features aghast more than ever. Instead of a reply, Ino pushed Tenten away roughly and Ayumi followed her lead, sending the two other girls almost tumbling down on each other.

The ground suddenly grew sticky and enveloped half of Tenten and Hinata's legs, locking them in place. The two tried to thrash about but to no avail as the ground almost swallowed half of their bodies whole. As if thing's couldn't get any weirder, Ino and Ayumi smirked spitefully, revealing sharp canine fangs. They took a step forward slowly in the direction of the two confined girls, their wicked grins never fading.

Tenten couldn't believe this was really happening. What was indeed going on? "Who are you? What are you?"

Hinata struggled at her bonds, her bloodline still activated and glaring directly at the two forwarding females. "I-I think we're trapped in a genjutsu,"

xXx

Thanks for reading and please _do_ review! xP


	7. Rescuer

This is the seventh chapter, enjoy

This is the seventh chapter, enjoy!

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I own this plot, though.

xXx

**Chapter Seven:** Rescuer

She didn't expect him to be back earlier than anticipated. Supposedly, he would be arriving back to Konoha tomorrow but, she guessed that probably the mission went successful. His mission partner was a capable Aburame, after all. Even if he was as annoying as hell, he wouldn't let a mission fail. That and he needed this to increase his rank even before the next chuunin exams.

She recognized the blonde boy immediately when he entered her office with a thrilled grin. Trailing behind him silently was his mission partner. "I see the mission turned out to be a success, Naruto?"

"Of course, Tsunade-baachan! Why wouldn't it be? You're talking to the great Uzumaki Naruto!" He replied, his confidence oozing from his tone. His confidence _combined_ with his bigheadedness.

She shook her head, sighing. Even after two and a half years, he was still like the thirteen year old boy she knew back then. "Shino, how was the mission? I don't believe this genin one bit,"

"Genin?! Who are you calling genin?" He yelled infuriately. Undeniably, he was still the loudest kid in Konoha.

"It was successful, Godaime-sama. Turned out that the bandits after the Akihito clan in Iwagakure were missing nins and wanted the diamond their clan was protecting." Shino explained calmly and when he was about to elucidate further, Naruto butted in.

"And if it weren't for me, they would have taken the diamond!"

The Aburame cocked a brow. "You _broke_ the diamond, Naruto."

"WHAT?" Tsunade bellowed in disbelief.

The blonde scratched the back of his head sheepishly with a wide grin plastered on his guilty face. "Ehehehe! Well, it was on the way when I was battling one of the bandits and--"

Tsunade groaned. "Narutooo…"

"It was a good thing the diamond he broke wasn't the real one. The Akihito clan kept the real diamond in a safe place and the one Naruto broke was a decoy," The bugs expert clarified and it almost made the female Hokage sigh in relief. She heard that the diamond the clan was protecting costs at around ten million yen. She would have to give up her gambling winnings and even stop gambling altogether just to pay for it, if that indeed transpired.

"What? Why didn't you tell me, Shino?! You made me worry the entire time!" Naruto whined, surprised that the diamond he broke was actually a bait.

Shino just remained cool. "You were busy girl hunting when we planned the assail. And besides, you never asked anyway."

"WHY YOU!"

"Enough! The good thing is the mission was victorious. This is another successful mission for you, Naruto." Tsunade stated, looking at the blonde's ninja file.

Naruto grinned. "Yatta! I'll go tell Hinata! She wished me luck when we set out days ago!"

"I'm afraid that wouldn't happen, Naruto. Hinata's on a mission," The female Hokage's statement made Naruto halt from bolting out of her office.

The blonde ninja looked at her with those chinky eyes of his, tilting his head in confusion. "Eh? She hadn't had any missions for a long while now. What did you make her do this time? Who are her teammates?"

"She's with Yamanaka Ino and Tenten," She replied simply.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Oh? Really? Wow, the first-ever three woman cell! What's the mission? Why are they all girls?"

Tsunade glared at the boy. "None of your business, Naruto. Now, go along now. You're done for today."

The boy approached her and placed his hands on her desk. "Oh come on, Tsunade-baachan! I'm worried about Hinata!"

"She's just doing a simple escort mission in Amegakure, nothing big."

"I see…"

The female ninja sighed inwardly before glancing at the two boys. "You two may now leave,"

xXx

"A genjutsu?" Tenten asked, still a bit dubious. The grip around her lower body tightened, eliciting a cry of pain from her. It was slowly crawling its way up their faces and at this rate, if they won't do something quick, only their faces would be visible.

"H-Hai. A genjutsu. I feared this the moment I realized we're going in circles because the way to Kumogakure is a straight line," Hinata replied, struggling against her now heightening bonds. The bogus Ino and Ayumi were now a few meters away from them, their wicked smirks unwavering.

The bonds now reached their stomach and it was rapidly increasing. "How do we stop this?"

"I-I remember Kurenai-sensei saying something about stopping it. There are two ways. F-First, you have to release an immense amount of chakra from your body all at once," The Hyuuga explicated, her voice now turning in uneven pants.

"Let's try it then! On three!"

"One!"

Hinata immediately closed her eyes to concentrate. "Two!"

It was now Tenten's turn to shut her orbs.

"Three!"

xXx

Watching him slurping down one bowl of ramen after another was disturbing. Very disturbing to say the least. But, he had nothing better to do, anyway. He couldn't train because his two teammates were in two separate missions. Although, one of his teammates' mission vexed him. What was up with a three-woman cell?

He sat quietly beside Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen while the blonde had already ordered his fourth serving. He didn't order anything. He wasn't hungry and ramen wasn't in his menu. So, he decided to just go along with Naruto, even if it meant seeing him eat degradingly. He had to air his speculations, after all, and only Naruto was present in town.

Which further confused him. Given that Hinata was with Tenten and Yamanaka Ino, her cousin had to be present right? He didn't hear any S-rank mission before they left Konoha so, where was he? And if it was only a simple escort mission, why three females?

"Something's strange." Shino suddenly muttered, making Naruto look up at him with ramen noodles hanging from his lips.

"Huh? What's strange, Shino?"

"Hinata's mission. Why are they all females?"

Naruto sipped his bowl clean. "I don't know. You know how Tsunade-baachan can be a feminist at times,"

Shino raised a brow. "In an escort mission?"

The blonde beckoned the ramen shop guy for another serving. "Yeah. Tsunade-baachan can be that weird,"

And suddenly, something came up inside Shino's head. The place of their mission. "An escort mission in Amegakure?"

Naruto grabbed long strands of ramen with his chopsticks as he began eating yet again. "Why? What about Amegakure?"

Shino's brows furrowed. "From what I know, the Akatsuki already conquered the place."

The name of the formidable group made Naruto stop eating abruptly. He dropped his chopsticks unexpectedly into the ramen bowl as he stared at the Aburame with wide blue eyes. "The Akatsuki?"

"Yes. So, what's Hinata and the others doing there?" Shino asked, more to himself than to Naruto.

The blonde stood up hastily. "We have to get to Hinata!"

"Godaime-sama wouldn't approve to that,"

Naruto clenched his fists in anger. He frowned as he remembered how Hinata had always been kind to him. She had often been there for him, talking to him when nobody else was there. And now, she went into a mission that could be her last. He wouldn't stand doing nothing. "I don't care! Hinata's important to me! She might be in danger right at this very moment!"

"Here you go again with your impulsive attitude," Shino mumbled, glancing up at Naruto.

"I wouldn't forgive myself if something bad happens to Hinata. She had always been nice to me and I want to pay her back. I don't even know why Tsunade-baachan sent her and the others to that mission with the Akatsuki," The fox boy replied and before Shino could say anything in response, he ran away from the ramen eatery—leaving a baffled Shino.

"Naruto, wait!" He called out, running after him.

The ramen shop guy stared at the two's retreating forms. "Oi Naruto! You forgot to pay! Come back here!"

xXx

Tenten opened her eyes only to find the same scenario—the only difference was that the bonds they were in were advancing real fast. By now, it had already reached their shoulders.

"Hinata, what happened? Why didn't it work?" The weapons mistress' voice was raspy as she panicked a little. The bonds were now making them hard to breathe.

"I-I don't know. I suppose because we're pressured in doing it and it didn't come out right," Hinata panted profusely. "B-But there's another way. Ino-san has to infuse her chakra in us or else,"

Tenten gazed at the Hyuuga in distress. "Or else what?"

"W-We're gonna be trapped here forever," Hinata's reply sent a chilling sensation up Tenten's spine.

Their apprehension augmented even more when the Ino and Ayumi in the genjutsu walked nearer, making them inches away from where they were. Excruciating pain surged through their heads when the two females placed their index finger on their foreheads. Tenten and Hinata screeched in agony as a mind-numbing headache pierced through their very skulls; worse than any headache they had experienced in their whole life.

It went on for a good five minutes before everything went white and the view of the forest washed through their sights. The two girls looked up only to find Ino clutching on their shoulders, perspiration trickling down her cheeks. Hinata and Tenten carefully stood up, still weakened by faint dizzy spells, as they glanced at Ino who just smiled at them.

"Welcome back to reality," She muttered. "Sorry it took so long. He kept me really busy,"

The two female ninjas gazed at the direction Ino was staring at and they found two young men smirking at them. One had short spiky green hair with brown eyes while the other had a long blue hair tied in a short ponytail. Each of them would've looked dashing if not only for the fact that they would most probably be their opponents.

"I'm afraid you two escaped my genjutsu," The one with blue hair announced, crossing his arms over his chest.

"My my, Daiki, we haven't introduced ourselves yet." It was now the one with green hair's turn to speak up. "I'm Ferio and my friend here's Daiki. Please to meet you, my beautiful ladies." He bowed down mockingly while his comrade did the same.

"The one named Ferio can perform wood jutsus," Ino mumbled to her companions, still glaring at the two men. "He was the one who attacked me while that Daiki trapped you two in a genjutsu,"

"Wood jutsus? I thought only Ichidaime-sama can do that?" Tenten asked when she finally held her composure.

"I'm afraid he can do it too. These guys are not to be taken lightly. They said they work for Pain," Ino replied.

"W-What happened to A-Ayumi-san?" Hinata inquired, looking around.

The Yamanaka kept her stance. "I told her to run when I was battling that Ferio. I think she hid somewhere,"

Hinata activated her Byakugan and searched. "Yes, I can see her. She's safe,"

"Hey, ladies! What are you three talking about there? Daiki and I feel left out!" Ferio inquired as a wooden spear materialized in his right hand.

"I think they're gonna prepare to hurt us, Ferio-kun."

Tenten took her fighting pose. "What do you two want?"

Ferio smirked. "Simple. Sex with you three but, I guess that can't happen because--" His sentence was cut short when Daiki nudged him with his elbow. "Ouch, Daiki. What was that for?"

"Stop joking around, Ferio-kun. We want that Ayumi to be brought over to Pain-sama, remember?" Daiki retorted, rolling his eyes.

The other male pouted. "Eh, but can't we keep them as trophies once we're finished?"

"When you two freaks are done babbling about our gorgeous bodies, please let us know so that we can actually stop covering our ears." Ino snapped, giving the two a defiant stare. Ferio merely smiled at her.

"You look so hot. I know when to pick pretty ladies! I'll take you on then. Along with that ravishing bunny girl over there," The green-haired lad pointed at the blonde medic nin then to the weapons kunoichi, licking his lips hungrily. "And I hope I can rip off you two's clothing during battle,"

"Pervert!" Ino and Tenten scowled in unison.

xXx

"We'll set out to Amegakure!" Naruto declared, pumping his fist high. Even with his unquestionable enthusiasm, he frowned upon remembering the Hyuuga heiress. She didn't deserve to be put to jeopardy like this.

"You're not serious, Naruto." Shino plainly replied, looking at the blonde. "Even if I'm worried for Hinata too, I'm sure she can handle it. Those two are with her, anyway."

"I'll still go! She needs me!"

When Naruto was about to jump on the nearest tree branch, Shino prevented him. "I'll go with you. I'm intrigued as to what mission did they _really_ go to,"

"That's good then!" Naruto nodded and the two jumped onto a tree branch simultaneously. The blonde's features were determined and the Aburame couldn't help but speak his opinion about it.

"Are you, by any chance, in love with Hinata?"

Naruto almost fell with the swift inquiry but, he kept his equanimity at the last second. Heat came rising in his cheeks and he couldn't explain how or why. He was blushing… over Hinata? He shook his head as he glared at Shino.

"It doesn't mean that if I care for her immensely, I'm in love with her! I just, well, she's just… important to me, that's all. I can't explain it, damn it." The ramen-loving blonde retorted, frowning. He jumped onto another tree branch as he discerned what he just said. Hinata was just a friend, right? Right?

"If you say so…"

He wasn't in love with Hyuuga Hinata, right? And he was pretty much sure Hinata wasn't in love with him in any way.

The great Uzumaki Naruto was certain of it.

xXx

Tenten ran rapidly alongside Ino to the direction of Ferio with her kunais and shurikens at ready. The blonde mind-controller had her kunais ready too. As they approached the smirking lad and maneuvered their weapons to inflict damage on him, he was quick enough to dodge it with his wooden spear. Ino kicked him but, he escaped her assail and when he did, Tenten was fast enough to punch him where he fled. Ferio was hit but, he rapidly kept his self-control as he stood up, wiping the blood dripping from his lips with the back of his hand.

After doing it, he ran towards the two females. Tenten instantly saw his upcoming attack as she opened her scroll in a swift movement, sending her beloved weapons flying towards Ferio. The two kunoichi smiled but when everything cleared up, a huge lofty wooden wall pierced with Tenten's weapons was in between them and the lad. The weapons mistress gritted her teeth. So, the high wall protected him? What a devious strategy.

Meanwhile, Daiki had appeared behind Hinata almost straight away and when he was about to attack her, the Hyuuga dodged it hurriedly. She used her Juuken Ryuu style of fighting to knock him out and with that, Daiki went collapsing down the ground. He stood up slowly after the assault, a smirk tugging up his lips.

"Okay, play time's over. Pain-sama was right. You girls are not easy to capture," Daiki said, staring at the three kunoichi.

The female ninjas looked at each other in perplexity. "Capture?" Tenten asked. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think we came here just to capture that bitch? Of course not," Ferio answered, smirking.

Daiki nodded at his companion. "Pain-sama ordered us to capture one of you. That way, he'll know about the Hachibi and the Kyuubi as well."

Hinata looked down, her face gracing with apprehension. "Naruto-kun…"

"Shall we begin?" Ferio took on his stance. He ran quickly to Ino, too quick for the naked eye to follow and kicked her fiercely—sending the blonde mind-controller colliding on a tree with her back. The green-haired ninja did a fast hand seal to restrain the Yamanaka but the lass made it a point not to let her arms be constrained.

Ferio didn't notice her effort, though, due to Tenten's sudden assail. The brunette kicked him but, the lad evaded the assault and instead stabbed her quickly on the leg with a kunai. Tenten yelped in pain while she lost her ground, glaring up at the green-haired ninja.

On the other hand, Hinata was already battling Daiki with her Juuken Ryuu. The lad always dodged her attacks but, the Hyuuga landed one on him—driving Daiki into an abrupt fall. Hinata was about to finish him off when the shinobi gradually disappeared. Unknown to the lass, he appeared hastily behind her—punching her potently. Hinata plummeted on the ground but, she regained her stance right after, keeping her glare on the boy.

Tenten removed the kunai out of her leg forcefully as she got two scrolls from her backpack. She placed one of them on her right while the other on her left. While still frowning at Ferio who was standing meters away from her, she performed a hand seal, preparing her renowned technique.

"Soushouryuu!"

xXx

Thanks for reading and_ please_ review!


	8. Impossible

Chapter Eight here, I hope you'll all like it

Chapter Eight here, I hope you'll all like it!

I don't own Naruto. I do own this plot, though.

xXx

**Chapter Eight:** Impossible

He saw something peculiar miles away from where he was. It looked like an encounter just transpired days ago on that exact same spot. With his bloodline activated, he could see it clearly and no doubt, it was once a battle field. He hastened his travel and when he arrived at that place, undeniably, he recognized the weapons punctured around the forest.

It was hers, indisputably. He could recognize her weapons from afar and even now that he removed one out of a tree, he could still distinguish it. There was something in her weapons that stood out from all the others. He couldn't put his finger on it but, they were unique. Probably because he had seen her weapons numerous times every time they spar.

But, to the ordinary eye, they all looked the same. And yet somehow, here he was, being able to identify her weapons from the rest of the armaments he had already seen in his lifetime. What made her weapons so special in his sight?

From the looks of the carnage, they were ambushed. This was proof that the escort mission was a hoax. That it was just a set-up. That the Akatsuki wasn't just after that woman but, after them as well. If you were going to analyze closely, in an escort mission, your foe wouldn't know that you were coming unless the one who requested told them, of course. Which was highly unethical. So, why were they ambushed beforehand if this was indeed a simple escort mission?

They should've already noticed that before they continued. Neji shook his head. They must've not taken heed, he thought. And now, they were in real trouble. Upon the realization, he began to continue where he left of. He had to reach them fast and with that, he decided to avoid entering Amegakure. By now, they were already escorting the woman to Kumogakure, anyway.

Neji gritted his teeth. He hoped he wasn't too late.

xXx

Using Sougu Tensasai or even Kuchiyose Tobidougu would be a mistake in this situation. Her opponent could perform wood justus, he could easily dodge an attack from the sky and she had already used Kuchiyose Tobidougu on him. It just proved futile with that huge wall he summoned. So even if Soushouryuu was her trump card, she had no other choice. Soushouryuu was the only one who had a nice chance of even inflicting damage on him.

The two scrolls rose up magnificently like two white dragons, dancing together while creating some sort of vortex. Tenten used the opening to propel herself in between the two spiraling scrolls. She summoned various weapons inside her open scrolls with her hands as she threw them accurately towards Ferio.

As expected, the green-haired ninja created a wooden shield in a flurry of moments—shielding him from Tenten's weapons. As different armaments punctured their way towards his defense, they weakened the structure of his protection—preparing Tenten for her final attack. Little did Ferio knew, Tenten had attached chakra lines to her weaponry as part of her technique. She then pulled all of her weapons out of his shield quickly and threw them again all at the same time with much power.

They shattered his defense but, as soon as they did, Ferio was fast enough to raise a thick wooden branch in front of him to protect himself. The weapons crashed on the newly established shield but, some of them inflicted injuries on the lad's arms, making Ferio wince.

Tenten landed safely on the ground and she frowned when she saw that she didn't knock him down. She grabbed a handful of her shurikens and threw them at his direction to confuse him as she ran hurriedly towards the boy. The weapons kunoichi was about to approach him when a huge branch burst out of the ground in front of her and slapped her potently—sending her plummeting down the ground roughly.

"Tenten!" Ino shouted and when Ferio heard this, he tightened the bonds surrounding the medic nin—gaining a loud screech of pain from her.

Daiki, on the other hand, had created multiple images of himself as part of his genjutsu to baffle Hinata. Of course, the Hyuuga knew exactly who was the real one due to her activated bloodline as she used her Juuken Ryuu to hit the real Daiki. But, when she was about to stultify him, he disappeared. Hinata looked around in search for him when suddenly she saw everything around her swirl in a spiral of colors. While she was befuddled, Daiki punched and kicked her non-stop, making the pearl-eyed kunoichi fall down brutally.

Both beaten up girls stood up with care, their legs slightly wobbly. But even before they were completely on their feet, the two male ninjas advanced to their direction swiftly. Tenten got her kunai quickly before Ferio approached her as she used the mere weaponry to dodge his assails. However, with her faintly tired state, she was over powered as the boy landed a mighty kick on her stomach, sending her crashing down the ground. Hinata mimicked Tenten's strategy too with her kunai but, like the other kunoichi, she was overwhelmed as well.

"Guys! Guys!" Ino whispered to the two as they fell meters away from her. "I have a plan,"

Tenten gathered her strength while she stood up carefully. "About time, Ino. Spill!"

"Think you could lure that green-haired bastard in a straight line from where I am?"

The weapons mistress grinned. "Not a problem,"

Ino glanced at the Hyuuga heiress who was slowly getting up as well. "Hinata, weaken Daiki with all you've got. We want him half-dead,"

Hinata looked at the medic nin with pertinacious eyes. "H-Hai!"

"It's now time for Tres Marias' payback!"

xXx

"What? Two days?!" Naruto retorted, staring at the Aburame with unbelieving sapphire eyes. "We will be too late by then!"

Shino's face was inscrutable. "We don't have a choice,"

"We can speed up our travel, what do you say?" The blonde jumped on another tree branch, speeding up to prove his point.

"If you really want to help Hinata, conserve your energy by not hurrying."

Naruto frowned then gradually slowed down. Shino had a point but, if he won't hasten, there was a huge possibility that he would arrive there too late. He had already lost Sasuke before and now even Ero-sennin. He wouldn't stand losing Hinata as well. He had already swore to protect everyone that was close to him—his friends who he considered as family. For Uzumaki Naruto, another promise failed would mean another life wasted. And he wouldn't just sit around twiddling his thumbs knowing that another promise he made would go down the drain.

Naruto gritted his teeth. _I'm coming for you, Hinata!_

xXx

Tenten began attacking again, this time with more speed. Even though her right leg stung from the injury she got from his kunai, she still pursued, throwing shurikens at him. Of course, Ferio dodged them easily but, to hurt him wasn't her aim. She knew Ino had a sneaky plan up her sleeve when she told them that and she trusted her. So, Tenten's only goal was to pull him into their trap. And she would do that without letting him know what hit him.

Hinata launched her assault too, running towards Daiki and using her Juuken Ryuu to fight him. But, when she landed a chakra loaded palm on him, he turned into a log. Alarmed, Hinata looked around and saw two Daikis coming her way fast. She remained calm and closed her eyes and when she sensed that they were advancing real near, she cracked them open with her Byakugan on.

"Shugo Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!"

And with that, she raised both of her hands hastily and maneuvered them around her in a circular motion. Sharp chakra lines that can cut almost anything beamed from her open palms and with her quick circular motion, she created a huge shield made of chakra in a flurry of moments. With her rapid technique and out of the blue decision, Daiki didn't have the chance to turn around as he bumped headlong on the shield Hinata formed.

The young male shrieked in anguish as the Hyuuga's defense sliced his skin and tore off some of his clothing. Blood sprayed down the ground while he tumbled down the ground harshly. Daiki refused to be deterred, though, as he carefully stood up from where he fell. Even before he was entirely standing up, Hinata ran towards him hurriedly and knocked him out again with her successive Juuken Ryuu style of battling.

Tenten noticed that Ferio glanced at Daiki's direction and took this as an opening. She grabbed some of her kunais and threw them at him. One of them managed to pierce through his already bleeding arm as he managed to evade the others with his tree branches. Ferio glared at the weapons kunoichi while Tenten smirked as if taunting the male ninja. The lass gained his attention as he did a hand seal and various branches came bursting out of the ground. Tenten immediately grabbed her scythe and used it to either shield herself from them or cut them fiercely.

One managed to wrap around her foot, though, and throw her meters away from where Ino was tied up. Tenten saw this as an opportunity as she stood up, grabbing more shurikens and launching them at Ferio. The lad became even more irritated and ran towards her but, even before he could approach, his body went stiff.

Aghast, he slowly turned his head to the side to find Ino with her hand seal. "It's called Shinranshin, my dear. Useful, ne?"

Ferio's eyes widened in utter shock as he watched his feet take steps he was unaware of. From the looks of it, he was leisurely walking to the direction of where Hinata and Daiki were battling. The Hyuuga had already landed another hit on him but, Daiki repudiated being discouraged as he planted a punch on Hinata. But, due to the damage her technique had inflicted on him, it wasn't mighty enough to knock Hinata out as the Hyuuga heiress hit him again. Daiki collided on a tree with his back, making him cough out huge droplets of blood.

When he was about to fall, Ferio caught him almost instantly. "Ferio-kun..?" The younger male muttered, looking up at his comrade.

There was an expression of fear mixed with dread that loomed on the older male's face as he grabbed his kunai and stabbed Daiki on the chest countless of times. With each stab, Ferio heard his name being repeated in obvious helplessness. He watched while he killed his own companion with his own hands—his own hands that weren't in his control anymore.

Ino released her technique on him upon realizing that Daiki was already dead. At that moment, Ferio instantaneously hugged his friend. "Daiki, I didn't mean to…" He whispered over and over again in between sobs. After almost five minutes, he let go and stood up, a deadpan glare directed at the three girls.

"You three are gonna pay…" Ferio mumbled. "DEARLY!" He continued, shouting, as he did another hand seal.

The tree Ino was adhered to rose high up in the air rapidly, sending the blonde screaming for dear life. It halted when it was several meters from the ground and Ino shrieked even more when her free hands were bonded to the rest of her body. The two remaining girls watched as Ferio did his revenge on the kunoichi that brought about the death of his friend. Tenten took his busy state as a chance to take on an attack while she chucked kunais towards the lad.

He evaded them easily as a menacing look graced his features. "That won't work again, my weapons mistress! PREPARE TO DIE!" At that fuming bellow, enormous tree branches came erupting from the ground, their aim towards Tenten.

The weapons kunoichi escaped their assault as they crashed on the ground she was standing on seconds before. She landed meters away from where she previously stood but, little did she knew, the branches recovered fast and were pointing towards her again. This time they were more numerous than earlier.

They were fast and Tenten grabbed her explosive tags and tossed them at their direction. Loud booms wafted through the air as smoke almost made them unable to see. Fortunately for Hinata she had her Byakugan on while she searched for her comrade. Tenten was unable to see through the smoke, coughing her lungs out. She had to admit what she did was foolish but, it was her only choice. She didn't notice, though, the rising of the branches yet again. It was almost too late for her if it wasn't for Hinata.

xXx

When the smoke finally cleared out, she saw Hinata behind her—yielding her distinguished technique to shield her from the branches. Ferio did another hand seal and more branches punctured their way towards Hinata's defense. Their assail were futile, though, as the Hyuuga's technique proved to be more potent. The branches turned into dust one by one while they pursued their assault on colliding with the chakra formed protection.

Hinata lost her ground when the technique was over, losing so much chakra from using it two successive times. Ferio was panting too but, he didn't give up as more branches came rupturing from the ground. The two escaped their attack again but, Hinata got hit when one of them slapped her violently.

"Hinata!" Tenten shouted while the Hyuuga fell on the ground. The brown-haired kunoichi opened her scroll, letting her weapons cut through the branches. One of them, though, spurted from the ground behind her and slapped her on the back—tearing parts of her clothing and driving her into an abrupt fall.

"Stupid little princesses! Do you honestly think you could all beat me? I had half a mind to spare your puny lives but, when you killed Daiki, all chances were lost!" He grinned a devilish grin, watching as the two got up slowly. "Since you killed my friend, one of your comrades has to die too, ne?"

The two kunoichi grew alarmed when they heard Ino's scream of agony. "And I guess she would be the first one to go,"

Ino screeched again and Tenten took this as a signal to do something quick. She ran hastily on the tree Ino was tied up to with an intention to rescue her but, suddenly, a branch erupted from the ground, encircled her waist, and threw her brutally down the dirt.

"Where do you think you're going, bunny girl?"

Hinata launched an attack as she ran to the direction of the green-haired ninja. She was about to knock him out with her Juuken Ryuu but, a rapid branch slapped her powerfully on the face and punched her stomach. The Hyuuga soon collided on a tree with her back—blood dripping from her wounded cheek and sore lips.

Tenten refused to be put down, though. She opened her scroll once more and various weapons flew towards Ferio. When the mess cleared out, she saw a wooden wall shielding him. "That won't work again, you know." He said and with his confident statement, a branch swiftly wrapped around her waist and threw her on the dirt again. Tenten carefully got up once more but, she knew she couldn't take any more beatings.

Ferio calmly walked towards the panting brunette and grabbed her disheveled hair painfully, making her look at him. He quickly got his sword that was hanging from his back and stabbed Tenten on the left side of her stomach. She cried from the immense hurt and it became louder when Ferio plunged the armament deeper into her.

Tenten heard her companions call her to get up when she inexorably slumped down before him. But, it seemed like her hearing also gave way too. And out of the blue, she saw Neji's face in her head—those stoic pearl eyes, his rare smile, that long brown hair. Somehow, she knew she had reached her limit; she had reached her end. However, she hoped Neji would be by her side right at this very moment.

A wooden spear materialized on Ferio's right hand and Tenten knew this was it as she closed her eyes somberly. "I didn't know you'll be the first one to go, heh!"

When he was about to stab her with it, someone stopped him. And even with closed eyes, she knew who her savior was.

She couldn't forget his distinct presence, after all.

xXx

Thanks for reading and please do review!


	9. Arrival

Sorry for the long wait

Sorry for the long wait. xP Here's chapter nine, hope you all enjoy!

Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.

xXx

**Chapter Nine:** Arrival

He was here. Oh boy, he was here. Time as if stood still when he seized his arm to prevent him from stabbing her. Funny, just a while ago, she was imagining him saving her; rescuing her from this turmoil she was now in. And now, she need not say goodbye because he was here. Her eyes would've widened like saucers if not due to the fact that she couldn't contort her face to any reaction with the pain she was now suffering from.

But, inside, her heart was doing somersaults from her euphoria. And before she completely lost consciousness, she saw his pearl eyes looking at her without the usual stodgy façade. A stare that spelled concern all over.

_Neji…_

"Hakke Kuushou!"

Ferio rapidly plummeted far away from where they were—his body crashing down the ground brutally. He didn't stand up instantly due to his extreme fatigue as he laid down on the dirt wheezing. After unleashing his technique, Neji immediately ran on the tree Ino was tied up to, released her using sharp chakra lines penetrating from his hand and landed safely on the ground using other branches as leverage. The blonde landed safely on the ground too almost next to Neji.

"Take care of Tenten," He stated, glancing at the medic nin. Ino merely nodded and rushed to Tenten's side. She did a fast hand seal and green-colored chakra enveloped her right hand. Tenten cried in pain when Ino gradually pulled the sword from her stomach.

"Easy now, mission leader. Just bear the pain for a while," Ino muttered as she carefully pulled the sword out. She did successfully and the weapons mistress panted profusely after. Once the armament was tossed to the side, Ino used Shousen to heal Tenten's injuries—starting with her huge open stab.

While that was occurring, Neji helped Hinata to stand up and sit near the other girls. Upon arriving, he couldn't help but fix his stare at the suffering brown-haired kunoichi. If only he got here sooner, this would've been avoided. He hoped Ino paid real attention to her medical trainings.

Neji frowned as he watched Ferio stand up slowly. "All of you stay here. I'll keep this bastard busy," Instantaneously, Neji ran towards the green-haired ninja and landed another Hakke Kuushou on him. Ferio fell abruptly once more and it took a full minute before he got up slowly again. The weight of using so many wood jutsus consecutively was starting to strain on his shoulders. A ninja could only lose so much chakra in one battle, after all.

As if not taking heed on the damage his techniques were putting on his body, Ferio did another hand seal and various branches ruptured from the ground yet again. They advanced to the direction of the Hyuuga genius but, Neji quickly used Kaiten to block them. The branches proceeded on harming him again but, Neji hastily escaped their assaults professionally.

While Ino was healing Tenten, Hinata took it as a chance to recharge chakra inside her body. Two succeeding Shugo Hakke Rokujuuyonshous have placed her in a dangerously low chakra level and it would be best to revitalize herself for future fights. She would aide her comrades no matter what and she would make sure no Akatsuki would know more about Naruto and his demon inside. At least, that way, she would be able to protect him.

"Hinata, check where Ayumi-san is. I'm starting to worry where she ran off to. I can't see her while I was up there," Ino said as she finished closing Tenten's huge wound. She progressed on the kunoichi's other injuries as she infused more chakra into her medical technique.

"H-Hai. Byakugan!" The Hyuuga heiress searched around and after much scrutiny, she saw the woman sitting down behind one of the bushes not far from them—covering her ears in obvious fear.

"S-She's behind one of the bushes meters away from us. She looks really scared, I-Ino-san."

The blonde was still busy curing Tenten. "Keep your eye on her from time to time. She _is_ the reason why we're in this mess, after all."

Hinata meekly nodded as she averted her gaze on the two fighting males. By now, Ferio was having a hard time standing up but, that didn't prevent him from using more branches to either defend himself or attack Neji.

Subsequent to all his attacking, Ferio halted little by little. He stood his ground firmly and mirrored Neji's deadpan stare towards him. "I didn't know these girls called for a knight in shining armor. How cute!"

Neji merely glared at him unwaveringly. He wouldn't forgive him for almost killing these girls especially _her_. He hadn't seen Tenten so injured, so beaten up before. Probably because he was always with her during missions. It was a grave error of unfathomable proportions when Godaime-sama sent her into this accident mission without him. And morality be damned but, he would kill for her. Anyone who tried harming a single hair on her head.

Anyone.

Ferio, even with his tired state, did another quick hand seal. At this, Neji took on his stance—preparing himself of the inevitable. But, nothing happened. After a few minutes, just then, a strong rumbling of the earth occurred and huge, thick tree branches emerged forth from the ground near where the three girls were staying. Neji saw this with his bloodline and advanced fast towards their direction.

"Nya-uh! You can't do that!" Ferio teased as he raised his right hand high. Along with that movement, tree branches erupted from the ground, effectively stopping Neji on his tracks. The Hyuuga used Hakke Kuushou to clear his path of these branches but, they were too many of them. He wouldn't be able to reach them in time.

At this, Neji cursed under his breath.

The girls, on the other hand, saw the abrupt event that transpired near them. The branches, by their quick movement, seemed to have an objective of trapping them by forming a spherical cage. Just like what happened to Chouji and the others during that Sasuke Retrieval Mission, Ino thought—remembering her teammate's story when he recovered fully from his injuries.

"Ino-san, go! E-Escape when you still have the chance!" Hinata called out, while the branches were rapidly enclosing around them.

"But, how about you and Tenten?"

"You have already healed her, right? T-Then, go and help Neji-niisan!" The Hyuuga heiress smiled. "B-Besides, I can find a way of escaping with my jutsus when we get trapped here,"

Ino hesitated for a moment before nodding. She jumped through the last opening before the branches sealed on them—completely trapping the two inside.

After the chaos brought about by the technique cleared and after Neji had also cleared his pathway of troublesome branches, an enormous half-circle cage planted on the ground and made of branches was the sight that welcomed them.

Neji gritted his teeth in utter rage. "Tenten!"

Ferio just smirked. "Well, well, now those three wouldn't be able to battle for a while."

"Guess again, you bastard!" A voice shouted from behind and before the green-haired ninja could find out who it was, he was kicked forcefully on his back—sending him collapsing down the ground roughly.

While he was struggling to get up, Ino performed one of her techniques. "Shinranshin no jutsu!" And with that, Ferio's body grew stiff again.

"Neji, now!" The blonde medic nin called out, keeping her position. Neji silently nodded before running quickly beside Ferio. He took on his famous stance as he got ready for his technique.

"Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!"

In an impressive lightning speed, Neji managed to pinpoint all of his 64 tanketsu points—closing them effectively and rendering him unable to use any chakra. And with one last blow, he noticed something amiss.

His speculations were proven true when Ferio exploded into tiny wooden pieces after it. "A clone made of wood?" Ino couldn't believe it. He was fake all along. Probably when he kept Neji busy with those tree branches and while he was sealing them inside that wooden prison, he managed to duplicate himself.

But, where was he now?

xXx

Hinata surveyed the wooden confine that imprisoned both she and her mission leader. There had got to be a soft spot in this edifice, she was sure of it. And she activated her bloodline to help her search for that said spot. Looking around, she noticed a very small crack at the end of the structure. She smiled, that could be it.

She concentrated her chakra in her right hand, amplifying her strength. She only had one shot with this. If ever she failed, Ino wouldn't be around to help her revive all of her lost chakra and that would be the end for both of them.

Upon the thought of both of them, Hinata glanced back at Tenten who was still unconscious. She gave it everything she got and between the three of them, she was the one who fought extensively. Typical for Tenten not to be deterred and Hinata couldn't help but smile at that mere thought. No wonder her Neji-niisan fell for her. She was benevolent and pertinacious, tough-hearted and a warrior and still, all girl. A girl who knew how to carry herself despite her short-comings.

Hinata looked back at the small crack she saw a while ago with resolute eyes. If Tenten could do all those things, she can too. She was a kunoichi—a fighter who swore to protect everything and everyone precious to her. A fighter who would willingly sacrifice her life for the most important things to her. Because Konoha kunoichis were the best in their field and not only was Godaime-sama living proof of that but, also her two teammates who changed her view of herself forever.

The Hyuuga took in a deep breath before running swiftly to the direction of the diminutive crack—determined in breaking them free of their incarceration.

xXx

Neji looked around. Damn it, where was that bastard hiding now? How could he conceal himself this efficiently? He must be using a technique to do this. But, he couldn't hide for too long. Any small traces of chakra were bound to be seen by his Byakugan.

And as if Kami-sama heard him, Neji saw tidbits of chakra floating near a tree trunk meters away from where Ino and he stood. The Hyuuga genius waited no more time and charged to where he saw those said chakra. Too fast for the naked eye, Neji used Hakke Hasangeki in a flurry of moments—sending Ferio colliding on a nearby tree trunk forcefully.

That camouflaging with the trees technique won't work on a certified Byakugan user like him.

The green-haired ninja slowly stood up, undeterred. If he was a Konoha ninja, Ino would've already given him due props for his pertinacity. The death of his comrade probably sparked this kind of attitude on him. But then, this was already an S-rank mission. Expect no less from your opponents, she was told.

Neji and Ino both took on their stance when Ferio was completely on his feet. Completely but, still wobbly. When Neji was thinking of advancing once more, all of a sudden, a loud explosion came from the half circle cage meters away from them. Dust filled the air and when it finally cleared out, a hole could be seen from the structure. Coming out of it were Hinata and Tenten—with the former accompanying the latter. The weapons kunoichi was still a bit weak but, finally conscious and that made Neji smile fleetingly.

When the two girls finally approached Ino and Neji, the latter caught Tenten in his arms—gently helping her stand on her own two feet.

"You okay now?" Was Neji's soft inquiry, glancing at the brown-haired kunoichi.

Tenten just replied with a faint smile and a determined nod. Even after everything, even after almost getting killed, Neji could still see her will burning inside her. Even a near death experience wasn't enough to extinguish it. And Neji couldn't help but smirk at this. That's his Tenten. Never a damsel in distress, never would be.

And as if to prove his point, Tenten stood up gradually—making her feet firmly planted on the ground. She extended her left arm in front of Neji, as if preventing him.

"Tres Marias will take it from here,"

xXx

There you have it. Thanks for reading and please review! XD


	10. Success

I think this is the shortest chapter I have made

I think this is the shortest chapter I have made. XD; But, nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!

Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.

xXx

**Chapter Ten:** Success

Ferio only smirked at Tenten's statement. Even with their beaten up state, they still wanted to battle? This would be rich. "Seems like the fight made your head spin, bunny girl. You sure about that?"

It took a lot of self-restrain for Neji not to dash forward and pummel the guy dead after he heard what he called Tenten. Instead, he just twitched from the nickname as his fists clenched even more, if that was even possible. Tenten simply glared at him and nodded at her two teammates who returned her nod with a smile.

"Yeah, let's finish this!" Ino agreed, smirking. "Get ready, you moss-haired freak!"

All three girls took off rapidly, too swift for the naked eye to follow. It was as if they were never injured at all. They ran in perfect synchrony towards Ferio as the lad took his stance to prepare himself. But, it was too late as Ino advanced quickly near him—maneuvering her body to plant a mighty kick on his stomach.

It worked faultlessly as Ferio plummeted down the ground but, even before he came contact with the soil underneath him, Ino ran to catch him with another mighty kick. The lad flew the other direction and even before he was able to fall down, Hinata already activated her infamous technique.

"Shugo Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!"

When Ferio's half-conscious body came contact with the shield the Hyuuga had just created, there came a loud shriek of anguish. Blood spurted from everywhere and when Hinata was finally finished with her technique, she planted a mighty Juuken Ryuu on his unconscious body.

The green-haired lad flew upwards and even before he came contact with the Earth below, Tenten immediately opened her scroll. "Sougu Tensasai!" She shouted, unraveling her own technique.

Various armaments of different sizes flew high up in the air and when gravity called on them, they followed Ferio's body on their way down. When the ninja finally fell, assorted weapons punctured him, stabbed him, killed him dead.

If this was a stage play, Neji would've given them a round of applause. But, instead, he just smirked. That was what that bastard got for messing with these feisty girls. Indeed, Konoha kunoichi were the best in their field.

That sudden fast movement was too much for Tenten as she almost collapsed down the ground. It was a good thing Neji was quick enough to catch her even before that occurred. His eyes gave out a look of pure concern as he stared at the beautiful out cold lass in his arms. She fought until the very end, that much was obvious, and he smiled upon realizing that. His Tenten was really one heck of a girl.

He glanced at the two other kunoichi who just watched their portrayal of love. "You alright, Hinata-sama?"

The lass smiled. "H-Hai, Neji-niisan, I'm fine."

Ino crossed her arms and looked away. "Great, now no one will ask if I was okay or not."

"Hey, you guys! Are you all alright?" A piercing voice shouted and when Ino averted her gaze to find out who it was, she couldn't help but sigh.

_Not exactly the person I had in mind._

xXx

Both Naruto and Shino arrived too late, much to the annoyance of the former. Although, his irritation wavered almost instantly when he saw that Hinata, the person he wanted to see, was all right. As impulsive as ever, Naruto abruptly hugged the Hyuuga heiress upon seeing her all in one piece and it surprised everyone there that Hinata didn't faint and that Neji didn't pummel the blonde boy into a bloody pulp.

Of course, Ino thought, everyone had to have their moment.

The blonde Yamanaka, after making that realization, glanced at Shino fleetingly. She wore a cynical look after concluding that even if their names sounded alike, there was no way on Earth that she would date someone who was literally a living nest of bugs. And if that day indeed transpired, she would never forget to bring dozens of insect repellants.

Naruto still had his right arm around Hinata's shoulder when he approached Ferio's corpse.

"Ha! Is this the moron that tried hurting you, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata merely nodded, still blushing tremendously.

Naruto kicked the noticeably lifeless body. "Here, take that! That's for hurting Hinata-chan!" He said proudly, laughing cockily after. Hinata smiled at the ramen-loving blonde and she blushed even more, if that was even possible, when Naruto playfully rubbed his nose on Hinata's.

"Oi, Naruto. Easy going there. I'm still here," Neji reprimanded coolly, half-glaring at the hyper-active lad. He still had Tenten in his arms as he was carrying her bridal style.

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly with his free hand. "Hehe, I'm not doing anything! I'm just happy Hinata-chan's safe!"

"Hn,"

"Could you all please get a room?" Ino whined, rolling her eyes.

Naruto grinned. "Heh, I should've brought along Chouji here, huh?"

"Ew, you didn't just say that, Naruto! When we get back, I'll surely make you eat my moisturizer!"

"Speaking of getting back, aren't we supposed to be heading now?" Shino asked calmly. Neji met his gaze and nodded.

"Yes, we should. Tenten must be brought to the hospital soon," The Hyuuga genius replied, glancing at the girl he was carrying. He gripped her body closer to his as a determined look graced his features.

"And after she gets healed, you're gonna go with her on that date you promised, yes?" Ino inquired, grinning.

For a moment, Neji didn't know what to say. So, Tenten told them about that, huh? He couldn't help but feel guilty and at the same time, slightly embarrassed. Tenten doesn't deserve to be stood up like that. And yes, after everything, he would make it up to her. Neji stared at Tenten's sleeping form and once again, he smiled. Yes, he would date her—countless of times if needed be.

After all, Tenten was his.

"A-ano.. Ino-san, h-how about Ayumi-san?" Hinata queried all of a sudden.

Ino slapped her forehead with her palm. "Oh yeah! I completely forgot about her. You should go get her now, Hinata."

"T-That's just it… I can't f-find her anymore,"

"What? Where did she go then?"

xXx

She was fast. She knew none of those girls followed her. She had arrived safely back at Amegakure and she made sure no one was pursuing her. She closed the door of her house behind her and she panted, catching her breath. She had just ran all the way from the forest after she made sure that Byakugan user wasn't looking.

When she took her first step inside, she knew someone was already there waiting for her.

"What are you doing here? I have granted your request, didn't I?"

The edifice was partly obscured and he was sitting on a particular darkened side. "My minions failed to retrieve them,"

Her brows furrowed. "Well, that's none of my business. I did my part. I wrote that letter, staged the whole thing that you forged it, befriended them… everything!"

"Not everything, my dear Ayumi. You see, I don't have my Konoha informants."

"That's not my problem anymore. Regardless of everything, you said you'll leave me alone!"

A soft chuckle. "Don't you get it? Since I don't have my necessary data about the Kyuubi, you fail. I don't have any use of you anymore. I have extracted all the needed information regarding the Hachibi from you,"

She could feel herself trembling from fear. Her legs began wobbling. "Oh, please, Pain-sama! Don't do this!"

There was an abrupt gust of wind and just when Ayumi planned on bolting out, he was already behind her. "But, I'm afraid I will." He said in a forbidding whisper. Even before the woman could move, he already pierced her with a kunai from behind. Blood gushed out incessantly from her along with all of her suppressed tears. And her painful wail was overwhelmed by the roaring thunder as rain started to spatter on Amegakure's fusty streets.

**- Owari**

xXx

Yep, it's already the end! Thank you for all who reviewed and who will review. Thanks for reading all the way up to here as well. I appreciate your patience, dedication and effort! :P

I have another story in the works and instead of NejiTen being the flag pairing just like here in _Tres Marias_, it's gonna be NaruHina so stay tuned for that. :D It's going to be an AU one to take a break from this OU fic.

Oh yeah! I'll give cookies to anyone who would figure out something neat about the chapter titles, hehe. XD


End file.
